I Swear
by Ieri
Summary: COMPLETED!My first PRNS fic. Our heroes go to dance held Storm Chargers where they meet four new girls. But three are hiding a very special secretThey are ninjas as well. Who will live now that the darkness has surfaced once again? Read & review
1. I hope you dance

I hope you enjoy this PRNS songfic. This is my first PRNS fic. I hope you enjoy it. -M. Jaq

It was a warm summer's night. Our favorite heroes were getting ready to go to a dance held at Storm Chargers. They were casually dressed. Tori was wearing a blue and black peasant top with a jean knee-length skirt. Shane wore a wine red button down polo shirt with black slacks. Dustin was wearing a golden colored dress shirt with a pair of navy slacks. Blake wore straight black. From head to toe, he was dressed in black. Hunter was dressed in a crimson colored button down polo shirt similar to Shane's and was wearing a pair of licorice colored slacks. Cam was dressed an emerald green long sleeved shirt and a pair of off-white khakis. 

"Ready?" Tori asked as she emerged from her room. The guys nodded yes.

"Let's go then. See ya sensei." She said as she headed up the stairs. Sensei was meditating and was so close to floating. He nodded when Tori told him good-bye.

"Have fun uh, meditating." Dustin said as he followed Tori. _Please let there be some pretty girl there for me._ He prayed. Blake, Hunter and Shane had said their good-byes and waited for Cam with the others upstairs.

"See you around dad." He said as he was climbing the stairs.

"Be careful Cam." His father called out to him.

"Don't worry, I will."  
~*

Storm Chargers was booming with music when our heroes arrived. The place was filled with many of the people of Blue Bay Harbor. Tori saw some friends and headed towards them. They complimented each other on their outfits and talked mostly about the killer waves that had come in that day. The guys hung together and were able to get a table. A few Latino girls walked by talking in Spanish and they stopped over to them. One had long wavy crimson hair and striking blue eyes and wore a not so low-cut dress while the other was dressed in a black tunic top and black dress pants. The second had worn black glasses, which neatly framed her face. She had shoulder length dark brown hair, but it looked black because the place had no lights.

"Quiero bailar?" (Do you want to dance?) The crimson haired one asked, looking at Shane who obviously clueless on what she had said. 

"Uh…A little help here." Shane said towards Cam, the language expert.

"She wants to know if you would like to dance with her." Her companion said leaning on the table. _She's so hot! Wait a second? Where have I seen her before?_ Dustin thought.

"Sure." Shane said as he got up. A smile was upon her lips as she pulled Shane away from the guys. Soon, Tori came back with a friend whom she introduced to them and told Hunter to dance with. Her name was Ashley. Nice girl. Surfs with Tori whenever she gets the chance to. She had short, guy like black hair that was spiked in a style similar to Hunters, and was wearing a white peasant top with a pair of hip hugger jeans. Cam left to dance with some girl who kept on looking at him the ever since they got there. Pretty soon, Dustin and the other girl were left at the table. They didn't really talk except for the exchange of names.

"And you are?" she inquired.

"Dustin, you?" he answered.

"Andy, Andrea." She said.

"Aren't you that chick that rode in the 125s last week?" Dustin asked, leaning in.

"Uh-huh. And I beat you." She said, straightening up and crossing her legs. The music changed to a Latin beat known as the Bachata. Andy got up and held out her hand to Dustin.

"It's an easy dance. I'll teach it to you. C'mon." she said as she took Dustin by the wrist to the dance floor. 

"Okay, place your arms here and lemme have the other one." She said as she took his left hand and placed it on her waist, while the other was placed in hers. "Take two steps to the right and two steps to the left." Dustin did as he was told to and they began to do miniature circles around the area they were in. Andy's friend, along with Shane was doing the same thing. _That's my girl._ Her friend thought.

"Who are you?" Shane asked. She looked up at him. "I mean, we've been dancing for a good half hour and we never exchanged names."

"Oh, sorry about that. The name's Alexiel. Call me Alex."

"Shane."

"Hmm…Pleasure to meet you." 

"No, no. The pleasure's all mine." He said as he let her go and twirled her around. Once she was back in his arms, she said one thing…

"Nice." The music then changed to a face paced Merengue. _Oh happy day!_ Andy thought as she began to shake her hips. She smiled as Dustin looked on, letting her go. 

"Have fun. I'll watch from over here." He said, pointing to a spot near the floor. Andy nodded. A few songs later, Cam decided to join him. Dustin was too busy watching his new friend dance the night away to notice that Cam was standing beside him.

"Which one is she?" Cam asked, seeing if he could spot the Dustin's girl.

"Shit! Don't do that to me again Cam!" Dustin said as he turned around clutching his heart. Cam tried to suppress a smile and a laugh. _His face was so priceless!_ He thought. Letting go of his heart, Dustin's eyes began wondering in search of Andy. Once finding her, Dustin pointed out the Latino girl in the black tunic top and black dress pants. 

"Her? Okay man, spill. Name, age, number?" Cam asked casually.

"Andrea, Andy for short. Dammit! I knew I was forgetting something!" Dustin said as he failed to answer the last two questions. "And you? Where's your-" he was cut off because a nice looking Asian girl came towards them with three drinks balanced in her hands. She had shoulder length slick straight ebony hair, which was cut in layers and was dressed in a midnight blue halter-top dress. She had a warm smile when she approached them

"Yours?" Dustin asked.

"Mine. Thank you very much." He said as he took two of the drinks from her hands.

"This is…Dustin, right?" the girl batted her long eyelashes. _Cute. Very cute._ Dustin thought.

"That's right. Dustin, this is Rei. Rei, Dustin." Cam said introducing them after taking a sip of his virgin strawberry daiquiri. They shook hands and both wore a welcoming smile on their faces.

"I see your friend knows Andy." Rei said, turning to face the crowd of dancers.

"You know her?" Dustin asked surprised. Rei nodded, placing her drink on the table they all were leaning on.

"We live together, along with that girl," she said pointing to Alexiel, who had Shane wrapped around her finger. 

"Really?" Cam asked. Rei nodded. 

"We've been really tight since our parents died over a year ago." Rei said, looking at the floor. _Luckily the reason for their death is for us to know and for them to find out._ She thought.

"How tragic." Cam said putting his arm around her. She forced a smile on her lips. 

"Rei!" Andy's called out to them. She was coming off the dance floor to take a break. So were Alexiel and Shane. Blake, Tori, Hunter and Ashley had enough energy to stay, unlike the others.

"Looks like the gang's all here." Alexiel said.

"I guess so." Rei said happily.

"And you are?" Andy asked Shane.

"Shane…You?"

"Andy." She held out her hand, which he gladly took.

"Rei." Shane held out his hand this time, in which she gladly took.

"I'm Alexiel. Er…Better yet, it's Alex." Alexiel said as she gave a slight bow. Both Cam and Dustin gave a slight bow back. Andy stood in front of Dustin who took his hands and wrapped them around her wait. She leaned back and let her feet rest. This surprised him, but let his hands rest there. Rei and Cam went back to dance some more and Alexiel and Shane went to a booth so they could get to know each other a little bit more. _I'm happy someone like you came to this thing._ Both Dustin and Andy thought. Taking a look at the clock in the store, they both knew that their time spent together was drawing to a close. _There's enough time for one last dance. I wish it didn't have to end._ Andy thought silently.

"This song is for all you boys out there who have a girl in their arms…" The DJ said. Soon, All 4 One's classic song "I Swear" started to play. Dustin let Andy go and allowed her to pull him to the floor where they met up with Rei, Cam, Shane, Alexiel, Blake, Tori, Hunter and Ashley. Dustin held her by the waist, while she tied her arms loosely around his neck. Andy let herself be closer to Dustin. 

"I swear by the moon  
And the stars in the sky  
And I swear like the  
Shadow that's by your side" Andy didn't look at him, until he placed his hand under her chin and gently turned her face to see him.   
"I see the questions in your eyes  
I know what's waiting on your mind  
You can be sure I know my part  
'Cause I stand beside you through the years  
You'll only cry those happy tears  
And though i make mistakes  
I'll never break your heart"

Alexiel was letting herself get lost in Shane's eyes. Surprisingly, both started to sing the chorus.   
"And I swear by the moon  
And the stars in the sky I'll be there  
I swear like the shadow that's by your side  
I'll be there for better or worse  
Till death do us part  
I'll love you with every beat of my heart  
And I swear."  
They smiled and sort of blushed at the same time.   
"I'll give you every thing i can  
I'll build your dreams with these two hands  
We'll hang some memories on the wall"

"Hey Tor…I've been meaning to ask you something," Blake began. As if reading his mind, Tori did the one thing she thought she should do at this moment. She kissed him softly on the lips. It was short and sweet, but it was no surprise to the others. _Man! I've been waiting for those two to do something like that for over a decade. _Cam thought. Hunter applauded them in the back of his mind and looked down at the girl he had in his arms. She was a sweet girl and he had begun to like her. He started to enjoy her company, as did her. Ashley began to mouth out the lyrics, but she "said" them with such feeling that Hunter knew that in good time, he would have to ask her the same question someday in the not too distant future.  
"And when (And when) just the two of us are there  
You won't have to ask if i still care  
'Cause as the time changes the page  
My love won't ever age at all…"  
Rei leaned her head onto Cam's chest and let the beating of his heart sooth her. She almost fell asleep, knowing that she was safe in his arms. He just held her and rocked her side to side.   
"And I swear I swear by the moon  
And the stars in the sky I'll be there (I'll be there)  
I swear (And I swear)...

Like the shadow that's by your side  
I'll be there (I'll be there) 

For better or worse  
Till death do us part I'll love you   
With every beat of my heart and I swear…"

Some of the people didn't wait until the end of the song to leave. Many were gathering their things and were heading off. They had said their good nights to both the DJ and Kelly, whom replied "Anytime," as thank you's were being said. The song was just about wrapping up when Alexiel and Shane stopped dancing.   
"And I swear I swear by the moon  
And the stars in the sky I'll be there (I'll be there)  
I swear (and I swear) 

Like the shadow that's by your side  
I'll be there (I'll be there)  
For better or worse (better or worse)  
Till death do us part I'll love you  
With every single beat of my heart  
I swear I swear I swear…"

Once the song was through, Andy let go of Dustin's neck as he let go of her waist. The others followed suit. Tori and Blake left the place with their hands entwined. Hunter walked alongside Ashley, who remained quiet.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." She answered. _Just wishing the night didn't have to end._

"You sure?" he inquired. Ashley stepped in front of him and put his cheeks in her hands.

"I'm sure Hunter." She said reassuringly as she let her hands fall to her sides. They continued to walk.

"G'night Kel. See you tomorrow." Hunter called out to her. Kelly waved back.

"Are you going to walk me home?" Ashley asked as they exited the store. Tori's van was nowhere in sight. _Damn you Tori. _Hunter thought.

"Well, aren't you?" Ashley asked.

"I guess so. Lead me on." Hunter said. Ashley walked a few steps ahead of him and led him to her house where she kissed him goodnight. After saying their good-byes, Hunter left her doorstep with a satisfied grin on his lips.

"So, where do you live?" Shane asked Alexiel.

"I live in an apartment with Andy and Rei. It's not too far from here." She answered. "Why?" 

"So I could take you home." Shane said pulling out the keys to his Corvette. 

"Y-Y-You…drive a Corvette?" Alexiel asked wide-eyed. Shane walked over to the tar colored car that was in the parking lot. He unlocked the doors and opened the driver's side door. Alexiel just froze.

"Are you coming?" he asked. Snapping out of her daze, she began walking towards the car. 

"Shouldn't we wait for Andy and Rei?" she asked as she opened her door.

"Well, if you want to." Shane said as he closed his closed the door. 

"Um…Lemme think. If they don't come within the next ten minutes, then we'll leave without them. Besides, Andy's got her Jaguar parked in the back." Alexiel told him through the window.

Within the next ten minutes, Rei and Cam came out of the Storm Chargers. They were talking about some new laptop. Supposedly it had a built in camera, but since neither one had one, they couldn't really tell the other what it was like. 

"Thanks for the wonderful time Cam." Rei said.

"Don't you need a ride?" he asked. "Shane's car is right there." 

"Are you sure he won't mind?" 

"I'm sure. Besides, Alexiel is there. We could drop the two of you off."

"Well…" Rei said looking behind her. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. And anyway, Andy's got her car."

"Great. C'mon." he said as he pulled her by the arm.

"Incoming!" Alexiel said as she opened her door and let the seat down. 

"Thank you." Rei said as she climbed into the backseat while Cam followed soon after. Straightening her chair, Alexiel jumped in and Shane started the engine. As they were pulling out, Dustin and Andy were just coming out of the store. 

"I can't believe they just left us!" Dustin said, running his hands through his hair.

"Oh, don't worry. I have my Jag parked in the back." Andy said comfortingly, pulling out her keys from her pocket. "Need a lift?" Dustin nodded as they began walking towards her car. It didn't really surprise him that she had a Jag. She looked like the type of girl who worked hard for something and eventually would get it. He liked that. Andy unlocked her car and opened the driver's door. 

"Hop in." she said as she sat in the car. Dustin walked to the opposite side of the car and opened the passenger door; he jumped in. Andy started the engine and they were on their way.

"So, this is where you live?" Shane said as he pulled up to the apartment building.

"Yeah. Park there." Alexiel pointed to a spot that said "Visitor". Alexiel came out of the car and Rei, along with Cam and Shane, followed shortly after. 

"Wanna come up?" Rei asked. 

"Uh, no. Not this time." Cam rejected. Rei kissed Cam on the cheek and turned her back to him and called out to Alexiel who was still talking to Shane.

"C'mon Alexiel."

"Yeah, I'll be up in a minute."

"G'night Rei. As for you Shane, I'll be waiting for you in the car." Cam said. Shane nodded. Once he was in the car, the two new friends carried on their conversation.

"You're not a bad dancer. Lemme tell you that right here and now Shane." Alexiel said cracking a grin on her face.

"And you're not that bad of a singer either." That caused her to grin a little more widely. Alexiel looked up at the stars. A shooting star sailed through the sky. _I wish that…_ Shane moved in a little closer. Alexiel could feel his breath upon her lips. She was the one that gave into the closeness they shared. Their lips were locked in sweet kiss. 

"You know, any more longer and you two could have a session." Rei called out from the balcony on the third floor. They broke their kiss when they heard her. Alexiel knew what she meant by "a session".

"What does she mean by that?" Shane asked.

"You wouldn't want to know. Believe me. Anyway, good night." _My sweet angel._ Alexiel said kissing him lightly on the lips again. She walked away quietly, but quickly. Once she was on the third floor, both Rei and her waved good-bye to their dance partners as they drove away. Then, they both went inside their apartment.

"You live here?" Andy asked as she parked the Jag on the outskirts of a forest.

"Long story." Dustin said as he got out of the car. 

"Well, do you want me to go with you, or are you okay going alone?" she asked stepping out of the Jag. 

"I rather go by myself." 

"Alright. Well, I guess this is good-bye." Andy said as she walked towards him.

"Yeah, I guess so." Dustin said looking at her. Andy tiptoed a little and gave Dustin his first taste of her lips. Soft and gentle was the way the kiss was. As they pulled apart, Andy gave a small smile. Dustin still held her in his arms, and he didn't want to let her go. _I thank the stars for granting my wish._ He thought. They stayed like that for a few minutes, looking at the stars. Dustin eventually let her go and this time, he was the one who kissed her good-bye. He started to walk back to Ninja Ops when he saw her car speed away from the entrance of the forest.

Once Andy was inside the apartment, which she shared with Rei and Alexiel, they began to talk about their night. About how surreal it was that they all found someone they could actually enjoy. There was one thing that they didn't tell the guys…They were ninjas as well.

~*

What did you think? Should I make this a story or leave it as it is? You tell me in your reviews! Catch you all later. -M. Jaq


	2. Mysterious Fighters

Wow…I'm so happy that you all enjoyed chapter one. So far, there were two reviews that wanted me to add some more chapters. That leaves me no choice…I WILL ADD SOME MORE CHAPTERS!!!- M. Jaq

At Ninja Ops:

"I thought I'd never see the day you would ask Tori to be your girlfriend Blake." Cam said the following morning.

"Yeah man. What took you so long?" Shane asked emerging from the entrance. Blake shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know." He said.

"I bet you one thing." Hunter began.

"And what is that O Crimson One?" Blake asked. Dustin stretched out his arms as he descended the stairs.

"That you wanted to ask her at the perfect moment." Dustin said.

"You know, you're not as dumb as you look." Hunter said to him. Dustin gave him a punch in the arm.

"What was that for?" Hunter asked, taking a seat on the floor.

"Think man. Think." Dustin said. Their headquarters was quiet because bubbly Tori wasn't in yet. About an hour passed and there was no sign of Tori anywhere.

"This isn't like her. We're supposed to be training right now." Shane said eyeing the clock.

"Perhaps Tori's sleeping in?" Blake suggested.

"Doubt it. I'll run a scan on her morpher. You guys go ahead and start your training. We'll catch up." Cam said. The others nodded in agreement.

"You will run…" Sensei began. The guys moaned.

"He gives us way too much." Dustin said as they headed out.

"Yeah, running fifteen miles, then self meditation." Shane said as he began to run his miles.

"And then he adds sparring on top of everything, which I don't mind because I'll kick Hunter's ass." Blake said as he gained speed.

"Oh man. You're on Blake." Hunter called out to him as he ran by Blake. Dustin and Shane were the ones who were in the lead.

Back inside Ops, the computer was still searching for Tori's signal. It took a good five minutes for the computer to find out where the blue ranger was. She was at the beach, doing the usual. Tori wasn't alone for Ashley was with her.

"So, what do you think of Hunter?" Tori asked as they were bringing in their boards. Ashley's was black with teal edging while her's was white with a blue Hawaiian design.

"He's okay. I mean, we did talk a lot, but it would be nice to see him again." Ashley answered truthfully.

"Really? I'll tell him that." Tori said. Ashley stuck her board in the sand and grabbed Tori's arm.

"You aren't going to tell him a damn thing, you here me? He has to be the one that wants to see me, got it?" Her sapphire eyes blazing.

"Okay, okay. Mum's the word." Tori said holding up her hands. Just then, her communicator beeped.

"Does your watch always do that?" Ashley asked looking at her.

"Uh, yeah. Hey, I'll catch you later. I've got some things to take care of." Tori said as she headed towards her van.

"But you haven't even been here for an hour!" Ashley called to her and sighed. Once in the driver's seat, Tori gave the "Okay" for Cam to talk.

"Tori, do remember what we're supposed to be doing now?" Cam's voice seeped through the morpher.

"Training?" Tori asked.

"Well, you're late as it is. Just get over here already, okay?" Cam instructed.

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can." Tori said as she started the engine.

Three and half hours later…

"Man, I'm wiped out." Dustin said plopping onto the floor. 

"It was for your own good." Sensei told him.

"Yo, my homie g's what's happenin'?" Cyber Cam asked.

"Do you have to pop out of nowhere even if Cam doesn't program you to do so?" Tori asked.

"Well, someone needed to watch this place. Duh." He answered. Tori rolled her eyes. 

"Hmm? What's this?" Cam asked looking at the monitor. Located near the waterfall was a womanly figure clad in a ninja uniform. Blood red edging outlined it. The face was covered so only one could see the eyes. It wasn't anything like the ones Hunter and Blake wore when they were training. The black cloth was tucked behind her ears and draped over her nose from one cheek to the other. As the woman turned around, another ninja appeared. This one had ice blue edging on her uniform. The same cloth covered her face. They began to fight. The latter of the two began a series of punches that the other blocked quite easily. Then, she disappeared, only to reappear behind the other. Quick as lightning came the kick that sent Ice to the ground. A fireball emerged from the victor's hand. It grew to a size of a baseball as the loser was slowly coming to her feet. Fire was about to prove once and for all that it couldn't be destroyed by Ice. 

"How the hell did she manage to do that?" Shane asked. He and the other rangers were crowded around the screen. Sensei had seen that technique before. _The Blaze students have appeared, but why? Why are they in Wind Academy territory?_

"This is the end Ice." Said Fire as she threw the ball at Ice. Ice, who was now at her feet, was at the mercy of a huge fireball. 

"Ice blast!" she cried as a blue light shot out of her hand. The once heated ball was now nothing but a melted snowball. 

"Dammit." Fire cursed as she disappeared behind the flames of courage.

"Good fight." Ice said, turning to face the waterfall. She then turned and disappeared into thin air. The Wind and Thunder students emerged from the waterfall to see if either fighter left some clue as to who they were behind. Unfortunately, they didn't find any. Once back in Ops, cam began to analyze the fight.

"Apparently, we've never seen this fighting style before. They use their chi as a form of weaponry. But I thought that it wasn't possible." Cam said as he replayed the fireball formation. He replayed the fight on the screen, but it only showed the auras each fighter was giving off.

"And a chi is…?" Dustin asked.

"Inner energy." Sensei answered. "Every single living thing has one."

"I see. And this 'chi' could be good or bad, right?" Hunter asked.

"Correct." Sensei nodded. _Sensei Hatarwi said that his students would only appear in our territory when something has gone horribly wrong. Has Lothor attacked the Blaze Academy?_

"I haven't seen anything like this." Tori said baffled.

"But the thing is, we know that they're not from the academies we know of." Shane said.

"Dad." Cam began.

"What is it my son?" the little guinea pig (or is it hamster?) questioned.

"You do know where these fighters are from, right?" Sensei nodded.

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Blake asked the obvious.

"I have my reasons Blake."

"Now where are they from?" Dustin asked.

"The Blaze Ninja Academy."

"The what?" Shane asked.

"Blaze Ninja Academy. The students study the power of the four elements. Rock, fire, ice, and wind. They are born into the academy."

"I see. So only an elected group can enter." Shane restated what his sensei had said in laymen's terms.

"Sensei Hatarwi told me that the only reason why his students will appear here is that something has gone terribly wrong." Sensei told them. "Perhaps it is too late to save the other students. Maybe it is only these two that were not taken ransom. You are dismissed." His students gave a bow before they exited.

__

The Blaze Academy? I wonder who was under those masks. Dustin thought as he made his way to the track. Hunter and Blake followed from behind.

~*

This is where I'll cut it off for now. By the way, Alexiel, Rei, and Andy are mine! All MINE! HAHAHAHA! Anyway, happy Thanksgiving my friends. -M. Jaq


	3. Race, Lunch and Kel Zaks!

Thank you Jade35, Nameless and Freed Kyes for reviewing chapter 2. I hope that you keep on reviewing every chapter that I post. Have fun reading this one! -M. Jaq

About two days later, our favorite heroes were at the track watching Dustin lose a race to an advanced rider.

"Man. And I thought he was the expert." Shane said as his friend, the loser, walked his bike over to them.

"Apparently, he's not as good as that rider." Cam said as the winner rode his victory lap. Then, he saw a familiar face collecting money from the betters. To the person's left was another familiar face. Shane wasn't really paying attention because he _had_ to talk to Dustin about his loss.

"Rei? Alexiel?" Cam questioned under his breath.

"I still can't believe you lost." Shane said as he and Dustin re-grouped with the others. The victor came over to tell him that it was a good race. Before he did so, his girl friends came up to him and showed him the cash they collected.

"Awesome." He said in a very womanly voice.

"You know Andrea, you keep racing like this and we'll have to quit our jobs." The one with sky blue eyes said.

"I agree." The other one said. 

"You quit your jobs and I'll personally sell the Jag." Andy told them as she got off her bike. That shut them up. Neither girl wanted that to happen. Andy handed her bike to Rei who walked it inside Storm Chargers as she began to walk towards Dustin.

"Aren't you gonna take off your helmet?" Alexiel called out to her. Andy stopped and shook her head no.

"Yeah, that rider was definitely one of the best I've seen out here." Blake said.

"Hey, isn't that him?" Tori asked as the "guy" walked towards them.

"What does he want?" Shane asked puzzled.

"Maybe a rematch?" Dustin suggested who had a surprise in store for him. The winner of the race went up to him and stuck out his hand, which Dustin took. Once they let go, the unknown rider pulled off "his" helmet to reveal a beautiful, but recognizable face. The ninjas just stared, wide-eyed.

"Surprised?" she asked them, quirking her eyebrow. Dustin was the first to recover from the shock.

"I should've known it was you. You're actually the only one who's beaten me besides them two." He said. She let out a soft laugh.

"And, I'm the only girl who has enough balls to motocross. You can't forget that fact. And what's up with you guys? You've seen me at the dance. What's up?" Shane blinked back to reality.

"Uh, nothing much. We're just a bit surprised that it was you under that helmet." He said. Common sense was returning to the others as well.

"Yeah we still are." Blake said. "I'm Blake, nice to meet you."

"The name's Andrea, preferably Andy."

"I'm Tori and this here is Hunter, his brother." Tori said. 

"Adopted, I suppose?" Blake and Hunter nodded. _At least we know that's she's smarter than she lets on. _Blake thought. With the question of Rei still in his mind, Cam spoke his mind.

"Hey, is Rei here? I thought I saw her collecting money." Cam questioned.

"Yeah, she's inside. She's probably fixing my bike. And Alexiel's with her if you were wondering Shane." Andy told them.

"She is?" he asked.

"Do you honestly believe that I'd come here alone?" she answered his question with another question.

"And why were they collecting money?" Tori asked.

"Riders and regular people that come out here like to cast lots. Apparently, whoever wins the race gets to keep the money. That's how we make money on the side." Andy explained. "I've gotta go. It was nice meeting you all. You guys coming?" Dustin followed her with his bike so that he could repair it inside the store, while Hunter, Blake, and Tori waited inside her van. Cam and Shane walked beside him. Inside Storm Chargers, the guys said hello to their girls, who were very busy repairing their friend's bike. Dustin placed his bike in the next available room in the garage and walked back to the female dominated one. 

"Yo Andy! You know you need some new body paint on this. Look at it. It's going rusty colored." Rei told her.

"Yeah I know Rei. I plan to paint it myself." Andy answered.

"You girls almost done?" Shane asked. Alexiel wiped her oil stained hands and walked over to him.

"We're fast workers. Hey Andy, I fixed the brake cable. One more ride on those old ones and you wouldn't be able to stop." Andy clapped a hand over her shoulder.

"Thanks." Andy said as she turned to inspect the brakes.

"You going to the skate park today?" She heard Alexiel ask Shane.

"Uh, no. Why?" was his answer.

"Just asking." She said. _I wanted to get some practice on my 540's and 360's. Too bad you turned me down. It would be nice to show off on my blades. _Alexiel stifled a laugh. It would've been weird if she was laughing and no one knew why. 

"Okay! We're done." Rei said as she wiped her hands with a towel. Just then, Hunter, Blake, and Tori entered the store.

"So, what are y'all doing for lunch?" Andy asked.

~*

"That was great. Thanks for treating us." Tori said as she stood up. Our heroes were located on the veranda in a small Italian restaurant where Andy decided to spend some of her victory money. 

"Your welcome. It's no problem. After all, I'm the one that drives the Jag." She said with a smile. 

"Hold up. You drive a Jag?" Hunter asked her with a mixture of seriousness and shock in his voice. Andy nodded.

"I had to spend my money something, right?" Andy said smiling.

"Yeah, I guess so." Hunter got up from his seat, as did the rest of them.

"So, when's the test ride?" Blake asked. Tori slapped him on the arm.

"What?" he asked. She just shook her head. 

"You have to excuse him. He's a dumb ass sometimes." She said. Andy laughed.

"Really? Well, I'm known as the Queen of the Dorks." (Queen of the Dorks- my pen pal calls me that when I say something really stupid) she took Blake's hand and shook it. "Pleasure to meet you. Are you from these lands? You are welcome to stay for as long as you like." That caused everyone to laugh. They began to walk along the sidewalk, checking out the little stands that were open that day. Alexiel kept on stopping at the venders who sold incense. She kept on mixing and matching different sticks to make one delicious scent. 

"I'll take three briar rose, three balance, and three autumn." She said as she gathered her earth bound sticks. Everyone pretty much agreed that she was the expert on incense and anything related to the ground.

"That'll be five dollars exactly." The vender said as he took out a plastic bag and placed her sticks inside. Alexiel looked at Andy, who now held all four hundred ninety-six dollars in her wallet. (Yes, they went to the bank to get it in smaller bills. Basically she's carrying four $100 bills, $50 bill, $20 bill, $5 bill, and $1 bill) Seeing that it was pointless to argue, Andy handed Alexiel the cash.

"Thank you." She said as she paid the man. "Okay. Let's go." 

A few more vender stands down, Rei saw something that caught her eye. It was a thick leather bound book that contained all of Edgar Allen Poe's stories and poems. She opened up and her eyes began to wonder from page to page. Each page held her attention more and more. Closing the book, she looked up at Andy with her eyes begging Andy to get the book. Sighing, Andy gave in.

"I can't believe I'm losing all the money I won." She said as the others laughed. "I worked so hard for it."

"Ah, don't worry, you still have me, right?" Dustin asked. 

"But you're not a Benjamin sweetie." Andy said to him. He smiled and enveloped her in his arms. Once Rei paid for the book, the group was once again on the prowl. Luckily, Blake paid for Tori's sapphire rhinestone necklace, which earned him a kiss from his Juliet.

"Thank you. Thank you." She faked a sob. 

"You know, you really are a drama queen." Hunter said.

"And I would just like to thank all of you who voted…" Andy began, holding an invisible MTV movie award. Looking at the other people on the street, another familiar face appeared in the midst of the crowd.

"Ashley! Over here!" Tori called out.

"Damn girl! Give us a warning before you decide to make us all deaf." Andy said sarcastically. No apologies were said as Tori dashed towards her surfing buddy.

"Hey Tori." Ashley said in casual tone.

"Hey yourself. What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Looking around. Are you alone?" 

"Course not. I had lunch with a few of my friends."

"Oh, I see. Well, can I meet them?"

"And who is this lovely lady?" Andy asked as she and the others appeared behind their backs. 

"Guys, you remember Ashley, right?" Tori asked, pushing her friend to the front.

__

"How can I forget?" Hunter silently said in his mind. Instead he smiled sheepishly at her and she returned it with a cocky grin. _You! Tori, I am so gonna kill you for not telling me that he was with you._

"My Andrea, and I would really appreciate it if you called me Andy." Andy said sticking out her hand which Ashley gladly took. _She has a good grip…for a surfer. Could she be…? _Andy immediately dismissed the thought in her mind.

"Hi, I'm Rei and this is Alexiel." Alexiel waved while Rei gladly took Ashley's free hand.

"And I do believe that you remember Hunter." Blake said, pushing him forward. 

"Ah yes, how could I forget?" Ashley said looking up at him. _Play it cool bro. Play it cool. _Blake thought. It was then that out of nowhere the mini-bazaar was full of Kel Zaks.

Oh kill joy. Kel Zaks. Oh happy day. ^_^::kick ass always!:: I'll catch you in the next chapter everyone! So long! -M. Jaq 

__


	4. The Fight and Discovery's first glance

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I had some help from Jade 35. Thank you for helping me complete this chapter! Reviews are needed please.

~*

"What the hell? What are they doing here?" Shane asked outloud as he took a fighting stance.

"Uh…You know these cree-" Alexiel didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because a Kel Zak's leg was about to hit her in the face. Luckily, she did a backward catwalk (gymnastic move here) and was able to avoid it hitting her face. A surprised look came on Shane's face. _Where'd that come from? _Apparently this was no time for questions for a Kel Zak loomed near him. He caught it by the wrist and swung it over. The Kel Zak that attacked Alex was now engaged in a hand to hand combat with her. Rei threw her bag behind her and took on the nearest Kel Zak that was nearest to her. 

"Alright, let's play." Andy said cracking her knuckles. A Kel Zak lunged at her, but she was able to put her arm in its torso, which caused him to stop the on coming attack. Looking across the small battleground, Hunter was distracted as Ashley threw a Kel Zak that came from behind over her shoulder, which landed with a loud thud. Another came from behind and she was able to stop it with her knee and once it was hunching over, she did a Twist of Fate. (WWE wrestling move performed by Matt and Jeff Hardy) Hunter went immediately back to fighting mode when a Kel Zak ran towards him and Hunter, being the 'expert' fighter that he was, waited for the perfect moment to kick the alien's back. Rei did her best to block two sets of arms from touching her. She was able to take hold of both their wrists and twisted them over to their backs. As she was doing that, Alex and Shane were back to back holding off their set of Kel Zaks. Dustin eventually made his way through his set and was currently helping Andy out in fighting a group of five Kel Zaks.

"Mind if—"

"Cut the crap and just fight dammit." Andy said as she ducked a punch and pulled the Kel Zak by the ankle down to the ground. Blake and Tori had their own little sparring contest. A bunch of the dark ninjas surrounded them. 

"Oh this is just great." Blake heard Tori mutter. She glanced at him for a short while and together, they were able to knock every single of them down. This group of heroes was certainly of a special kind. One that they knew how to fight together, no matter what the odds. In the minds of the Winds, Thunders, and Samurai, thoughts as to how their new friends acquired their fighting styles was all that was left of the battle.

Once the Kel Zaks were defeated, they did what they always did—disappeared. Breathing heavily, the group of fighters straightened themselves up. Rei went over and picked up her bag, checking the pages of the book to make sure no damage was done to it. The streets were pretty clear considering the fact that people ran away from attacking ninja aliens. They were all impressed as to how each other fought; especially the styles that were used by their new friends. As they were walking, Andy noticed that Dustin was staring at her.

"What?" she asked. 

"Where'd you learn all that?" Dustin asked in a bit of a surprised tone.

"My dad. Why?" 

"Just wondering." _Probably her dad owned a dojo._

"And what about the rest of you? Where'd you learn all of that?" Blake asked.

"Alex and I learned it from Andy's dad. He was willing to teach us if we were willing to learn. We eventually overcame his expertise in the art and since then we've been drilling each other." Rei said. "Apparently I'm better with the swords."

"But I took some gymnastics class when I was little. Since I'm still 'young', I'm able to do some of the moves I learned." Alex explained.

"And you?" Blake asked referring to Ashley.

"Wrestling. Seen it too many times." Ashley said with a laugh. "I promise I won't crush you."

"You watch wrestling?" Andy asked. _The one of the wind is said to be swift and powerful…Could Ashley be? Grr…scratch that. _

"Every Monday and Thursday night." Ashley answered truthfully.

"So now we have a gymnast, a wrestler, a chest master, and a 'ninja' in our clique." Blake said.

"What were those things anyway?" Ashley asked.

"Some alien life form I guess." Hunter lied.

"Okay, but why were they after you guys?" she inquired. _One reason alone—Lothor wants us, not them. _Andy thought silently.

"Lord knows. Probably they want to capture us and use us for some whack experiment." Tori answered. Eyeing her watch, Andy deliberately made up her mind. She stopped abruptly and turned to face the group.

"Hey, I have to go. I just remembered that my little brother and I have a sparring session at the dojo." She lied. _I have to be ready for the next attack._ "I'll catch you all later."

"Alright, see ya." Dustin said. Before she left, she looked at Alex and Rei with her eyes giving the hint to wrap things up.

"Uh, I just remembered that I have to study for this AP European History exam tomorrow." Rei said.

"AP what?" Shane asked.

"European History." She said, turning to Cam, "I'll see ya later, 'kay?" Cam nodded as Rei and Andy began walking to their apartment. Alexiel hit herself on the forehead.

"I can't believe I forgot!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Ashley asked.

"I have a semester exam tomorrow." She explained.

"Really? On what?" Shane asked.

"Physics—I plan to be an engineer, so I have to look more into it." She waved goodbye as she jogged to catch up to Rei and Andy.

~*

Once in the apartment, the three girls quickly got dressed in their ninja uniforms. Without uttering a word, they used their ninja speed to leave and train in the forest. Making sure that they were in Wind Academy territory, Andy began to speak behind her black mask.

"We have to be ready for the next attack." She said. Rei and Alexiel nodded.

"Yeah, one thing's for sure. Those Kel Zaks weren't after the Wind, Thunder, and Samurai ninjas at all." Rei said.

"But whenever they're gonna attack, we have to be prepared." Alex said balling her hands into fists. She clenched them so tightly that a miniature earthquake began.

"There's one thing I need to talk to you guys about." Andy said, keeping her balance.

"And what would that be?" Alex asked releasing her fists.

"I have a feeling that I found the Wind ninja." Andy said.

That's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed the fight scene— M. Jaq 


	5. Fire is Revealed

Hi everyone! I'm back. Welcome to chapter 5. Okay, first of all, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to those of you who have reviewed chapter 4. This is quite an honor. Without any further ado, here's chapter 5.

Some things to keep in mind when reading:

Cyber Cam will be known as C. Cam in this story. I may mix it up a little, just letting you know. 

"Man, I'm totally wiped." Hunter said as he and the fellow Ninja Rangers entered Ninja Ops. They could hear the sounds of "Kiyaas" and the sounds of body parts being drawn up in defense and then slicing through the air. The young heroes gathered around the screen. The way these three ninjas fought was almost poetically. Fire and Ice were present, but there was a new one with them. This one was quite tall and slender. Her womanly figure hugged the uniform she was wearing. On it, a stone patch was sewn on. The opaque uniform was outlined in a soft brownish, gray color. She immediately ducked when Ice's leg was coming to hit her. The fight between Ice and Rock had begun. Fire was no where insight, but they all thought that she had her reasons as to leave Ice and Rock alone.

"They fight as though it were a dance." Sensei said to himself. "It is like a poem that rages on between Rock and Ice." _These ninjas must come here for protection. _He thought. _Perhaps one day, when they do decide to join us, they will tell us the truth._ Then it happened. Fire ran at mach speeds towards her classmates with an army of Kel Zaks rushing on from behind. Ice and Rock stopped their fight when they saw that Fire wasn't alone. They nodded as each thought the same thing. Once Fire was alongside them, the three Blaze Ninjas held up two hands.

"They look like their gonna perform a Kamehameha wave." Dustin said. Apparently, he was the only one who had watched Dragon Ball Z. As soon as the Kel Zaks were in arms reach, the trio shouted different attacks.

"Fire blast!" 

"Ice beam!"

"Landslide!" They cried at different intervals. From Fire's hand came a long, but broad band of flames. A wide ice beam shot out from Ice's two hands and from Rock, came a large amount of brown-green vines. All their attacks either stopped the Kel Zaks, or wither burned, froze, or bound them. Each group of Kel Zaks were badly damaged enough to be brought to their knees—and disappeared. The young women lowered their hands.

"Do you think that the Winds, Thunders, and the Samurai are watching?" Rock asked as they bowed.

"I am very certain that they are." Fire said as she turned to leave Wind grounds. Ice and Rock went after her as well.

"H-How were they able to do that?" Shane questioned Sensei. The small guinea pig (I have decided that Sensei IS a guinea pig) turned to face his astonished students.

"I have told you that only Blaze Ninjas are born into the academy," he began, choosing his words wisely. "Each member of the clan consisting of Fire, Ice, Rock, and Wind, drill each other in the art of chi battle. Sensei Hatarwi told me once long ago, that in his academy, competitions between these four divisions are held every season. Only the best of these students get to participate in it; the winner faced all three opposing strands and came out victorious after every match. That was the reason as to why some of the earthquakes we experienced out here came to pass. He also mentioned that he was a Fire ninja, the most powerful of all; he told me that his children would be the strongest of the Blaze ninjas when their time came," Looking back at the now blank surveillance screen, Sensei continued. "Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Lothor has already attacked the Blaze Academy."

~*

About a week later, the Yellow Ranger and C. Cam were at Ninja Ops. The yellow one was thinking about the past couple of days. It was a cool autumn Saturday afternoon. Dustin went to Storm Chargers on various days of the week and raced alongside Andy. He either beat her or she beat him once or twice. He was getting lost in his thoughts when C. Cam came into the meeting room.

"Yo Dustin my man—what you thinking bout dude?" he asked.

"Oh nothing." Dustin said as Andy's smiling face blurred away. "Hey, I'll catch—"He was interrupted when the presence of Fire came onto the surveillance screen.

"Wind Ninja," She cried, "I request your presence out here. I challenge you to a fight between you and me alone. I swear I will not use any of my powers as an advantage. Don't keep me waiting." Dustin and C. Cam were staring at the screen. Dustin was a bit more taken aback, while C. Cam saw this as a perfect opportunity to gather some data on a Blaze Ninja.

"C'mon dude. Don't keep her waiting. Besides," he said clasping a hand over, "It would be the perfect opportunity to gather some more info on this chick." Dustin hesitated for a moment, and then ran outside. Being the Dustin that he was, he liked to face and over come new 'challenges'. Once face to face with Fire, he bowed. She bowed as well. 

"I see that you Yellow ninja are the one that will accept my challenge," Fire began, "Do not expect me to go I easy on you."

"And I won't hold anything back." He answered her. A smirk under Fire's mask emerged.

"If I win this match, you will never see my face, but if I lose, then my face will be revealed to you. Do we have an agreement?" she asked with chocolate eyes hardening. Dustin nodded.

"Oh this is going to be good." C. Cam said to himself as Sensei emerged from his small 'home'. _Good luck Dustin._

Taking their fighting stances, both Fire and Wind ninjas were ready to begin their match. Neither one moving, Fire was the first to go on the offensive, attacking Dustin with series of punches. Dustin did his best to duck and swerve out of the way, but that didn't help for long. _Damn this chick's fast._ Swerving out of the way of her fist, he saw his chance to attack. He grabbed her wrist and swung her with enough force to put her on the ground. Fire immediately got back up and was ready for round two. _Not bad at all._ She thought to herself with a broad grin under her mask.

"Warmed up yet?" she asked. 

"Warm up? What kind of chick is she?" C. Cam asked himself as the fight continued.

Dustin shook his head, but had to quickly duck as she delivered a tornado kick to his face. Fire kicked air before she was able to land on the floor. Sensing Dustin's arm coming towards her, she did a backwards catwalk and landed directly behind him. She was about to punch him on the back, but stopped as his fist found his way to her face. Seeing that Fire froze, Dustin stopped, and lowered his fist. A wide grin was placed on Fire's lips.

 "A draw," she said politely. "I know now what I must do." Fire's hands went to her mask. Very slowly, she pulled her mask off, revealing an all too familiar face. Dustin's expression went from questionable to shock.

"Andy?!" 

Yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, Andrea/Andy IS the Fire Blaze ninja student. Shocker or not? Review!- M. Jaq


	6. I Swear i

Hola everyone! Welcome to chapter 6. Jade-This one's for you buddy. 

'_Hi there beautiful' _= thoughts.

Kiyonne/Kiye= Andrea/Andy

~*

"That was a great movie." Cam said as he and the other Wind and Thunder ninjas descended the steps that led to Ops. They overheard Dustin's voice and a feminine voice exchanging words.

"And that's basically my story. I mean, it's not much, but—"

"Mind if we cut in?" Shane asked. Dustin didn't look at him as he got up. 

"No. Not at all," the young woman replied sweetly. 

"Guys," Dustin began. "I'd like you meet the Fire Blaze ninja." Stepping aside, Andy's face came into the light. Everyone's eyes bulged, but Tori was the first to completely recover from the shock.

"Well, it's nice to know that there's more female ninjas out there. I'm tired of being the only one." She said happily. Sensei's small, but demanding voice raised above theirs.

"Andrea, is there anything that you would like to tell them?" Andy played with her hands. She didn't really tell Dustin the WHOLE story, but now was a good time.

"My full name is Andrea Kiyonne Hatarwi. I am the eldest daughter of Sensei Hatarwi. The Blaze Academy has been permanently destroyed. It has been burned, frozen and wrapped in vines for well over two years. I, along with Ice and Rock, are the only survivors. Wind, is someone that we desperately are trying to locate." She began,. "I have a proposition for you ninjas," Andy began. The other ninjas took a seat around the table. Folding her arms over her chest, Kiyonne started to speak again.

"What if I were to tell you that there was a way to come across Ice, Rock, y Wind?" she asked. 

"Hmph...How?" Hunter asked rolling his cerulean eyes. Kiye smirked.

"Oh, but there is crimison one..." Looking round the table, she continued with her grand plan, "You do want to see who's behind those masks, right?" Everyone nodded their heads. 

"If they ask any of you to a battle, do not refuse. They will fight under these terms; one, no powers. Two, weapons are allowed. You choose, they choose. If Ice uses weapons, I'll bring one of mine for you to use because Lord knows how hard they fight. Now," Kiye stopped so that she could roam freely like a cell phone. 

"As for the location...that is up to them. They will choose where and when the battle will take place. Once the battle has begun----No one, not even any of you here are allowed to intervene. If you do, then their faces will never be revealed....Do we have a deal?"

"Aye." Sensei's voice answered for them all. 'I am very interested in seeing these upcoming matches.' 

~*

Andy said her good-byes and was walked to the edge of the forest by Dustin.

"I can't believe that—"

"I'm Fire, right?" Dustin nodded. 

"It wouldn't occur to me that you were a ninja."

"I'm sorry." Andy said.

"Sorry? For what?"

"Lying to you." She said, facing the clouds.

"About what?" He inquired.

"About meeting my brother for the sparring less—"Dustin's head tilted back as memories of their times spent together jogged through his mind. Instantly remembering, he came back to earth.

"No, it's okay really. You beat me, remember?" he told her affectionally. Andy felt relieved, but something on the inside, something that she wanted to tell him, but couldn't, tugged in her. '_I want him to know the whole truth about me; he has to know and understand everything.' _She thought.

"Dustin," Andy began, "What are you doing tonight?"

~*

Around eight that evening, Dustin was dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt for Andy had asked him out to dinner. '_It's just that she's a friend, err…Ninja. Nothing else_.' He thought, making sure that he looked 'presentable'. 

~*

"So they found out?" Rei asked. 

"Aye." 

"But I don't see the reason as to why you're going out with him tonight," Rei continued.

"I have to tell some things about myself that I want him to know."

"Uh-huh…so I see." 

"What do you plan to tell him?" Alex asked.

"All things that you already know about me," Andy answered as she turned in the mirror, eyeing her straight black outfit, which consisted of a short-sleeved, rhinestoned tee and a black, with some red plaid, skirt. She shuffled around her bed, looking for a pair of sandals. Once they were on, her girl friends walked her to the door.

"Have fun." Rei called out as Andy went down the flight of stairs.

"Be safe!" Alex's voice echoed through the hallway.

~*

After dinner, the Fire and Yellow ninja were walking along the shoreline of Blue Harbor beach. The waves gave the sound of peace and tranquility, but most of all, balance. Three struggling powers will now come into an alliance this very night. Fire stopped walking as did the Yellow. 

"Dustin," Fire began, "There's a whole lot about me that I want you to know—but at the same time, I don't want you to know." This caught the Yellow ninja's attention.

"Like what?" he questioned her_. 'It can't be that bad…can it?' _Fire looked to the stars, then back at her friend. 

"I have lied to you more than once," she began. The yellow ninja approached her cautiously.

"How so? I mean…" Dustin was trying to find the words to say. Collecting his thoughts he began to speak again, "Andy, you're a good person, even if you do lie to me and the others. It's okay. We have to keep our secret of being Rangers too and 'mysteriously' disappear to save the world from Lothor's hands."

"No! That's not it!" she cried, "I understand about the disappearing and reappearing again, but that's not what I want you to know." Concerned about Fire, the yellow ninja gave her tight, but friendly hug. The waves broke through their hugs, getting themselves wet by the ankles.

"Then tell me all you want me to know." He said, releasing her. He looked into Fire's eyes, which were full of what she was known for—fire. They spoke to him poetically, telling him that it wasn't easy trusting him since they had just recently met over a course of about a month.

"Tell me." Eyes darting away from his own, Fire began to speak.

"Because I carry the Hatarwi name, Lothor will be after me—I'm sure of it; those Kel Zaks that attacked us both in the forest and in public weren't for you guys…It was meant for me. Both attacks…And I know that if I—"

"You won't. I promise. The others and I will protect you and your ninjas until Lothor is gone—"

"You swear?" Dustin hesitated, but answered truthfully.

"I swear." Fire's instinct kicked in and she kissed the ninja of friend. It was short, but it had a meaning—It was one of those kisses that two friends/lovers share when they promise that nothing will happen to the other no matter how much physical pain each will feel. Pulling back, Fire locked eyes with her new flame.

"Thank you Dustin." She said in a stern manner. _'Thank you.'_

And that's the end of chapter 6. Hope you all enjoyed that lovely chapter. Catch you in the next one! —M. Jaq


	7. Wind's Human Form & Paris Blues Cafe

Hola todos, para a mi family. Estoy bien aqui. (Hello everyone in my family; I'm doing fine here) Welcome to Chapter 7. There's a lot in store for you, so just sit back and relax.

"French words"

"Spanish words"

"English"

"Japanese"

All that you need to know:

Demo- nisshu— devilish 

Sarsujinki— devilish homicide

Tenshin— Angel

Ane— Older sister

L'ange— Angel

Ange— Angel

Oui— Yes

Diablo— Satan 

Capitan— Captain

Mashou— Devilishness

Amiga (o) — Friend

Pole vou François?— Do you speak French?

Et (y) — And

Feature Song:

"Boy Ain't Around" — Written by me.

~*

It was a glorious Sunday afternoon and the lovely female pack of ninjas were well about on their merry way through the streets of Shore Side— a new open air mall. Ice, Rock, and Fire, alongside with the Blue Wind ninja were walking around.

"What about this?" Tori asked, holding up a lovely blue shirt to her chest.

"No—Look for something more…L'ange," Alex told her. '_L'ange? — Must be French.'_

"Rei! C'mon! Lemme see how you look!"  Kiyonne said as she banged on the door.

"Any harder and you'll break it demo-nisshu Tenshin!" Rei cried through the door. _'Unbelievable'— Andy thought._

"C'mon! Try i—"Alex stopped in mid-sentence because she felt that something was wrong. A harsh wind blew throw the Gap, making the windows quake—almost shatter. 'Wind's here…I'm sure of it.' The door swung open and in came Ashley. She wore a half smile and her hair was gelled in a style similar to the way Pink kept her short hair. Rei unlocked the door that Andy was standing in front of. Both were thinking the same thing, but Alex was the first to voice her opinion.

"Guys! Guys!" she said as she walked up to them, "Cute top Rei—Err…what did I come here to sa—Oh yeah!" In lower voice, she went on.

"I have this nagging feeling of uncertainty that Ashley is the Wind ninja. I mean, the wind picked up as she was walking here." 

"And did you notice the swift change of the clouds?" Andy asked. 

"What the f—? Kiye, are you serious?" Rei asked. Andy shook her head as she raised her hand to the sky. Indeed the clouds became a deep shadow of gray. 

"Holy shi—"Rei muttered under her breath. Andy shoved her back inside the room. 

"Change quickly. We'll take her to our apartment later this evening. We have to tell about her destiny." Andy said.

"But what if she doesn't want to be one of us?" Alex asked concerned.

"I am the capitan of this trio. You, Rock, will not disrespect me like this again, do we understand?" 

"Aye." The door opened and Rei came out. Ashley and Tori were talking about the surfing competition that was going to take place at their 'home shores' not too long from now.

"So, who came with you?" Ashley asked, eyeing around the store. 

"Uh, Alex, Rei, and Andy—oh! I totally forgot to tell you something." Tori said. 

"And what is that?"  

"Andy's got a real full name," Tori began. 

"Oh, what is it then?" Ashley asked, seeming very interested. 'That chick better not have Hatarwi as a last name…'

"It's—"

"Andrea Kiyonne Hatarwi." Andy said, sticking out her hand. 'Then she's the one that daddy's been telling me about. It's her dad!' Ashley thought as she grabbed Andy's hand.

"Ashley Mashou Ange." 'French I see.' Andy thought to herself.

"You're French, right?" Alex asked; Fire and now, the confirmed Wind ninja, released hands.

"Yeah, but I'm like a quarter of everyone else the world." 

"Hate to break this lil' party up, but I have a chemistry exam at Union tomorrow in the morning. I'll catch you later." Rei lied as she made a quick exit. 

"Yeah, I have to go to work at the Paris Blues Café." Alex said, and that was the truth. 

"OH! I have an idea!" Tori exclaimed. 

"And what would that be mi amiga?" Alex asked.

"Ane, please tell us," Andy pleaded.

"You said you worked at the Paris Blues Café, right?" Tori asked. Alex nodded.

"Well, I was thinking, since today's Sunday and all, why don't we all, including the alpha males, go there and chill for a while? I mean, listen to some blues and stuff." 

"Sounds good to me, what about you Ashley? Able to make it?" Kiyonne asked.

"Oui."  

"Okay, at what time is your shift?" Tori asked.

"Starts at seven, but I have to be there early though. OH! And tonight's free sing night." She said, looking at Andy, who looked at Ashley.

"Okay, well, I'll tell the guys." Tori said as she left the Gap. 

"May I have a word with you in private Andy?" Ashley asked, hinting for Alexiel to leave. Kiyonne's eyes ordered her to leave and she did as she was told.

"Come, Fire, let us talk in the glory of our ancestors." Wind had spoken.

~*

"Boy I'm goin' down! You ain't around…" Rei practiced as she was 'studying'. She was heard the door unlocking and she jumped, thinking that it could be Kel Zaks. Hearing to human voices coming from outside, Rei felt calmer. The door swung open and three lovely women stood there talking in a mix of rapid Spanish and broken French.

"L'ange et Ange, por favor—OH! Hola Rei!" Wind said in a mix of broken French and Spanish.

"What the hell? Can everyone speak English please?" she asked aloud. Silence ruled the apartment.

"Okay, that's much better. Now, calmly, tell me what you want to say." Taking a deep breath, Ashley went further in the apartment.

"Rei, I am the Wind ninja, the one that you all seek. My full name is —'

~*

Ninja Ops before Paris Blues Café

"And remind me whose idea was this?" Dustin asked Tori. 

"Mine. Oh, C'mon Dustin…Kiyonne's gonna be there." Tori told him the truth.

"Kiyonne? Who the hell is—"Shane asked, as he made sure his hair was okay.

"Andy—Hatarwi? Remember her? Fire ninja? Hello!" Tori exclaimed exasperated.

"Calm down baby, it's okay, we're entitled to forget." Blake said, gently gripping her shoulder.

"Can we please move on? We can carry this conversation at the café." Hunter said as he pulled Shane to the exit.

"Be safe—Who knows what Lothor will be up tonight." Sensei said as Cam, always the last one to leave, made his way out of Ninja Ops.

~*

The Paris Blues Café:

Once our heroes got there, they felt 'welcomed'. There were people on the dance floor/stage. A man with thick black shades was singing the true blues.

"Oh! Girl—You move me aside—Like a toy— I'm a helpless lil' boy…" The bassist and blue guitar player were backing him up musically. Many of the people were snapping their fingers and clapping to the rhythm. 

"C'mon! Let's go find Alex!" Tori said above the music. 

"Uh you do that —We'll find us a booth." Blake said as he and the other fellows walked more inward…They were headed for the tables nearest the stage. The 'alpha' males of the ninja tribe found a perfect table. It was in the center, where everyone could see the stage and the people dancing on the floor. About twenty minutes passed by and there was still no sign of Tori anywhere. 'I wonder how Tori's doing— I hope she found Alex.' Shane thought. As if hearing his prayer, his lady, clad in burgundy and blue, went on stage and started singing the blues.

"Oh…" she began as she snapped her fingers. Then, four other females joined her onstage. One was without a doubt, Tori, who took a seat at the piano and began to play random notes. Rei, took the electric guitar and she wove her Asian fingers smoothly across its bridge. Ashley took the huge base and began plucking it…As for Andy; she came on stage in straight black; black tank-top, black jeans and smoky eye shadow.

 "Boy I'm goin' down! Cause you ain't around! You're never here! I'm goin' down! I'm goin' down!" She sang with all of her heart. Her voice was like a 'base' so to say. Everyone loved the sound. They began to snap and clap to the blues— Including the owner.

"Hey boy…I'm missin' you…You split my eyes in two…Looking at you—"Alex sang, looking dead straight at Shane. Andy got off stage, and carrying her mike, she walked to the guys.

"Boy I'm goin' down! Cause you ain't around! You're never here! OH! I'm goin' down! Cause you ain't around! My world! Is inside out…Missin' you…Juss gives me the blues." She walked straight to Dustin while Alex brought the house down with the chorus.

"I'M GOIN' DOWN! CAUSE YOU AIN'T AROUND! YOU'RE NEVER HERE! BOY I'M GOIN' DOWN! YOU AIN'T AROUND!"

"Oh can't you see? You belong to me…I can't stand this pain…Oh! Why you do this to me? OH! YOU'RE GOIN' DOWN! CAUSE YOU AIN'T AROUND! You're never here…" Andy made all of the guys feel— threatened, especially Dustin, because he knew that she could kick his sorry Earth ass into the ground…Permanently. The other chicks were focused and made the music even bluer as the song was wrapping up. Alex jumped off the mini stage and joined her Ane on the floor. Everyone was digging their blues. All the cats felt their pain while the dogs were panting as they were left in the cold.

"I swear! You're goin' down! Cause you ain't around! Oh! I'm goin' down! You ain't around! Boy! I'm goin' down!" Fire and Rock sang to the heavens above.

"OH BOY! YOU'RE GOIN' DOWN!" Alex gave her last of her voice, waiting for Andy to finish the song. Closing her eyes, Andy let out one hell of a 'high' note, in which everyone applauded for…

"I'M GOIN' DOWN!" With even more bluer, she snapped her finger, and the applause stopped. 

"You're goin' down boy— Oh, you're goin' down. Cause you ain't around…I'm" she sang into the mike as if it were her only friend. Looking at the crowd, "Goin'…" The music died as she sang "Down…Oh yeah." 

The audience went mad with cheers and applause. The men who were at the table were shouting the loudest. Wolf whistles were heard from them.

"They are a talented bunch of women." Mr. Gibbs said. Mr. Gibbs was the actual owner of the café. 

"Indeed they are, sir…" Zurgane's voice told the owner.

How's that lads and ladies?— M. Jaq

P.S. HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND MERRY NEW YEAR!


	8. And so it Begins

Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 8! Hope you enjoy this chapter.—M. Jaq 

Aboard Lothor's ship

"I say we get those three Blaze Ninjas and turn them against their 'friends'." Zurgane said. 

"Hmm…Perhaps just one will do. We shall torture her and whip her memories away. Or…" Lothor's voice trailed off.

"Let's just destroy them and get them out of the picture." Vexacus said sternly. "And if that doesn't work, then we'll just take Fire and let her burn the others to ashes."

"Now that is a plan I am willing to execute." Lothor said eyeing Earth. Kapri and Marah were being the usual 'No Helpers'. They had four Kel Zaks for each of them. The eight aliens were doing their nails, putting little flower designs on them.

"You know, that Blaze student is stealing your man, right?" Kapri asked. This disturbed Marah, but on the inside, she hoped that Dustin was happy. Just to please her sister, she had formed a plan of pure evil in her mind.

"Let's bind her wrists so tightly that they would bleed and let's take that knife of Uncle's and cut her up. Then, let's leave her to rot in her cell, what do you say to that?" Marah asked smiling.

"Oh…I like. Okay guys, take five," Kapri told the Kel Zaks. The pair looked at their nails

 ~*

It was the second Sunday in January. Surprisingly there hadn't been any snowfall, but the weather seemed right for training. Sensei had called upon Andy to be there to help his students train. 

"I want you to run two and a half miles," Sensei began while his students moaned. Andy was laughing in the back of her mind.

"Why are you complaining?" she asked.  "Just go and run. I already completed my training for the day." With that, our heroes bowed to their sensei and friend as they went off to execute their training. Once their running was completed, sensei had them have a sparring session with Andy. Cam was the first, and was unsuccessful in putting Andy to the ground. To finish him off, Andy took hold of his right wrist and quickly swung him over her shoulder.

"Nice try Cam. Maybe next time." She said as she helped him up. "Next." Tori was up to bat.  The two girls decided to use their chi powers. Tori had water cannons shooting out of her hands, destroying the fire that came from Andy's hands. Andy smiled.

"Good Tori, now how would you get out of this mess?" Andy asked as she formed a ring of fire around Tori. The flames were blue, the hottest color fire could ever be. As Tori tried to extinguish the flames, the water turned to steam which gave of hisses of defeat. Tori wasn't about to give up though. She then tried to jump out of the ring and that was to no avail. The flames flew upward as she tried to break free. What was even worse was that the ring was slowly closing in on her. _C'mon think! Her mind cried. She could hear Andy laugh neurotically in the background._

"Just accept defeat sweetie, you can't break through those—" A huge cylinder of water flew up from the center of the fire ring. Tori's body was in the middle. Her eyes glowed an eerie shade of blue. Tori's arms spread open. Large amounts of water poured on the strong flames. Once they were gone, the cylinder disappeared and Tori's soaking body fell to the ground. Blake held his arms out to catch her. When he did, he shot a deadly glare at Andy, whose own hard eyes made him look away.

"Tori? Can you hear me?" He asked as she shook her. Her body just hung limp. 

"What did you do?" he asked with murder dripping on every word. He placed Tori's body gently on the ground. Sensei watched the scene unfold through the screen. A wall of fire blocked Blake from grabbing Andy from the neck of her uniform.

"Why don't you ask her when she gets up? I did her a favor."

"Bullshit." The fire wall disappeared as Andy's fist landed hard into Blake's stomach. He hunched over, gasping for air. Andy's foot found it's way to his neck, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Be lucky that she still lives." Andy said, then looking to the others, "Class dismissed." 

~*

A week later…

"How do you feel Tori?" Blake asked as they were walking on the beach. 

"A hell of a lot better than yesterday." Blake didn't want to bring up the subject of Tori and Andy's fight, but Tori was the one who did.

 "Remind me to thank Andy." She said.

"What?! After what she did to you? Are you insane?" Blake asked, practically taking her hearing away. Tori looked to the waves, and nodded.

"I have to. She pushed me farther than ever. It's like," Tori began.

"I don't care. Did you know that you exerted so much energy that we could've lost you?"

"At least I'd die knowing that I have a great power." Blake shook his head. _I understand why she would want to thank her, but—Dammit! Why did it have to be Andy that nearly ended her life? Why? _Seeing that it was no use to argue with his girlfriend, Blake let it go.

~*

At Storm Chargers

"You just had to finish the race with a Superman, didn't ya?" Rei asked, wheeling the newly painted ebony-blue bike into the garage. Taking off her helmet, Andy had a smile from ear to ear.

"Hell yeah. It was one way to catch Dustin's attention."

"Oh man, now you're trying to catch his attention? Girl is this what love's gonna make you do?" 

"I dunno. Just felt like it. So, any repairs?" Eyeing the bike carefully, Rei took a monkey wrench and tightened a few loose parts.

"Nothing major." 

"Great. That's the first time I didn't break anything." Looking at the clock, Andy told Rei that she was going home.

"Don't forget that it's your turn to challenge the Samurai." Andy told her quietly. 

"Aye. I'll call him out in two days time," Rei said. Then, calling out to Andy, "Bring your sword that day."

"Why? You mean to tell me that—"

"Yeah. Go home already!" _A duel with weapons. I hope __Cam_ can pull this off. _Andy thought as she exited the store._

~*

Two days later…

The sun was beginning to set and the ninjas were heading in for the night. Cam and Andy had a sparring lesson all day. She taught him how to fight with her sword, which was designed in a medieval style. The hilt was wrapped in burgundy leather and the blade was thin, but the steel used to create the sword made it heavier than it looked. It was slightly curved at the top, giving it a sense of Arabic influence. Andy was forced to stop her attack as soon as her own sword was pointed to her neck as she laid on her back. Cam kicked the sword out of her hand earlier in their final battle. She had dodged every on coming attack and stopped the blade from piercing her shoulder by catching the blade with her hand. Unfortunately, that left her hands to bleed. The final attack, brought upon by Cam had Andy on the ground. Her body was tired, meaning that there was no way of her getting up. Soon, she found her sword's tip pointing directly at her neck. She smiled at Cam for he had completed his sword dancing, for that is what she called sword fighting, training. 

"Now be a friend and help me up. I believe that my body had enough fighting for today." Putting the sword to rest in one hand, Cam helped Andy up, who winced, sensing the pain of her hands.

"Look what you did to my hands." Andy said as she showed them to him. They were walking towards the falls that led into Ninja Ops.

"When we're inside, you better ask one of the guys to bandage them up."

"Yeah, but dammit! I can't ride for the next couple of days." Cam let out a small laugh.

"You brought this on yourself." 

"It was either that or get my shoulder punctured." Cam said the passwords and the falls parted. Andy was heading inside when an ice dagger flew towards her. 

"Andy!" She turned around just in time to see Cam use her sword as a bat. The dagger fell to the ground in a dozen pieces. _It is time. Let the fight between Samurai and Ice begin._

"Samurai, you have protected your teacher. Come now and show me what you have learned." Ice's cold voice rang through the roar of the falls. Clasping his shoulder, Andy gave him her blessing, touched the sword, and wished him luck.

"If you must fight Cam, win." With that, Andy left him and the portal leading to Ops closed. Ice walked towards her opponent and eyed him carefully.

"You know the terms of this battle." She began drawing her own sword, which had similar in design to Andy's, but the hilt was royal blue and the blade wasn't a curve: it was straight. "If you win, my true identity will be known to you, but if you lose—"

"I'll have to wait for an unknown period of time to see your face again." Ice smiled benevolently beneath her helmet.

"Good. Now, shall we?" she asked as they brought up their swords in the X position. 

Inside Ops, Andy said, "And so it begins," as Dustin wrapped her left hand in a white cloth.

Well now people, what did you think? And who do you think should win this battle? Tell me in your reviews! See you all in the next chapter— M. Jaq


	9. Painful Discovery

Good day ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you chapter 9 of I Swear. Hopefully you enjoyed the last eight chapters. Without any further ado, here's chapter 9.

Inside Ninja Ops

"I really hope Cam wins this one." Tori said watching the screen. Dustin and Andy were seating at the head of the table. Her wounds were deep, but not deep enough that she needed to go to the hospital for stitches. Dustin was still wrapping Andy's hand in the white cloth that was easily stained scarlet. Her hand went back as he tied the bandage a little too tight.

"Sorry." He muttered. She said nothing and let him redo the bandage. While doing this, Andy's head turned to the screen. _He should be able to pull it off. I taught him everything I knew. Everything he needs to defeat her, or at least pin her to the ground. _

"Finished." Dustin said softly. 

"Thanks." Andy said, returning her eyes to him. Crossing his arms, Hunter sat down at the opposite end of the table.

"He better not screw this up." Hunter said, closing his eyes.

"And what makes you think he will? I taught him everything I know about fighting with the Blaze Academy's blades. And I have the scars—er…wounds to prove it." Andy said showing his now open cerulean eyes her bandaged hands. 

On the battleground, Cam's sword found its way to Ice's neck. He stopped, realizing that if he went through as to swing Andy's sword, he would have beheaded Ice unbeknownst to him that she was actually Rei. Ice's eyes hardened as she looked at him. With frost coming from her lips, she said in a soft, but stern voice, "Strike one." 

"She seems a hell of a lot more aggressive than you." Dustin commented as Ice went on the offensive and struck Cam at his cheek. Blood trickled down his wound. He brought his sword down to feel the blood upon his hands.

"Strike one." Ice said. _I can't let her beat me. All of Andy's hard work would've been put to waste. Cam's inner voice told him. Returning his eyes to Ice's figure, he knew that he had to go on the offensive this time around. When he did, he kicked Ice's sword out of her hands. Her eyes widened, but she didn't have enough time to blink for her back was to the ground and two blades showed their tips to her face._

"Strike two." Cam said with a smile. He straightened himself up and put one blade parallel to the ground and the other, above his head.

"So, you decided to keep my sword, eh? Well," Ice began as she flipped up, "Be that way." It was then that they began to dance. _This is your call Rei. Either you win or lose. It's up to you, but you can't hide this forever. Andy thought as she watched the battle with great intensity. Andy could see that Ice's body was deteriorating from the fight. Her friend's movement showed that off tiredness. The sky was parched red, which meant one thing— Blood was to be spilled that night. It was then that Cam caught Ice by surprise. Ice tried to dodge away from the oncoming blades, but couldn't. Her worn-out body wouldn't allow her to. The two blades tore through her uniform at the shoulders and sliced into her skin. Ice let out a cry of shock, but at the same time, pain._

"Oh shit." Andy muttered at the screen._ What has he done? Cam didn't stop there. He pushed the blades even further, making the blades slice through to the other side of the tar colored uniform. Blood began to run down Ice's body. It was oozing through her uniform as she stumbled backwards. Then Cam kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fall backwards and with the swords still intact, Ice was pinned. _

"Now time to unmask you." Cam said kneeling at the injured Ice. 

"You remember that dance we went to?" Ice asked weakly before his hands reached her mask. _Oh God no. Don't tell me…Please God don't do this to me._ Cam thought as he removed the mask. Cam's eyes filled with horror. Once it was off, Cam hurriedly removed the swords from Rei's pierced shoulders. He threw them aside and took her body in his arms. And it was there that he began praying that she didn't lose too much blood. It was there that he began saying "I'm sorry," over and over again. Andy looked away.

"He had it coming." She said. 

"And you knew?" Tori asked.

"Of course I did." Andy answered turning her back to them. She was about to make her way outside, but Dustin's question stopped her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" 

"Because if you knew who he was fighting, then you would have stopped him from hurting her," Andy said looking back at the others whose eyes asked the same question, "Don't worry guys, she'll be all right. She just need stitches, that's all."

Once outside, Andy told Cam as kindly as she could that Rei needed to get to the hospital—fast, but first, she needed to change out of that uniform.

"Hey Rei? Rei? Can you hear me?" Andy asked Rei's limp body.

"Yeah, what is it?" She asked smiling weakly.

"You look like shit." Andy said. 

"I feel like it." 

"You should. Okay, what the hell was I gonna tell you? Oh yeah. We're obviously going to the hospital, meaning that you have to change." Rei's eyes widened.

"How the hell do you plan to get me out of these clothes? I'm in dire need of pain medication." Rei stated the truth.

"First of all, let's get you up. Cam, please do the honors." Andy told him. After he got Rei on her feet, the others began showing up. They were already changed into civilian clothes and were ready to go. 

"Okay, seeing that everyone's here," Andy began and she wasted no time in instructing and telling people what to do. 

"Tori, I need you to get your van and be at my apartment once you do so. The back is open to three people. Those would be Cam, Rei, and Blake. Don't worry, Cam knows the way." Andy said not wanting to split up the couple. Cam quickly took his uniform off to reveal that he had a button down lime green shirt and jeans.

"I'm on it. C'mon." Tori said as she hyped into ninja speed mode, as did the others on her 'team'.

"Shane, go get Alexiel. She's at home. Knock really hard on door 366, just in case she's sleeping. Hunter you go along with him. Ashley should be there, hanging out." Shane and Hunter glanced at each other and walked quickly towards the edge of the forest.

"And what me and you?" Dustin asked.

"You're coming to the Blaze Academy with me to get some painkillers." Andy said. And with that, they were off.

~*

At Apartment 366

"You did what?!" Alex screamed at Cam who just looked away. Running her hands through her hair, "Jesus Christ Cam! Didn't you stop and think about what you were doing?"

"Alex," Rei winced as she tried to straighten herself up.

"What?!" She cried out. "You shouldn't even be talking Rei. Look at you." 

"Enough!" Ashley said aloud as a knock came from the door. 

"I want to hear absolute silence until Andy or Hunter is at the door." Ashley told them sternly as she was about to open the door. When she did, her face was greeted with that of Hunter and Shane.

"Hey guys, c'mon in." she told them. Like zombies, they followed her inside and the latter of the two closed the door. Each pulled a stool from the kitchen and joined the circle in the center of the room. Everyone kept true to Ash's words. No one talked, eyes just wandered the room.

"So, can someone tell me how this happened?" Ashley asked, breaking the silence. She knew how it happened, but she wanted to make sure she got the story straight. Rei and Cam took turns in describing how everything happened. Nodding her head, Ashley saw everything replay in her mind as she imagined the two fighting with swords and whatnot.

"Okay. That's the truth, now we need a lie to tell the people in the ER." Ashley said.

"I have an idea," Alex began. _Okay, she was attacked by armed robbers who were trying to take her bag away, and in the process of fighting them, she got stabbed. Now who's gonna play the roles of the robbers and who's gonna be her rescuer? Most importantly, her friends are already taken care of. That part will be played by me, Ashley, Tori, Blake, and Dustin. _

"We're all ears." Tori said as she took hold of Blake's hand.

"Well, it's quite complicated, but I guess it's better than nothing." Alex said looking at each of them.

"Stop beating around the bush and just tell us." Ashley demanded.

"Here's goes nothing. Rei was attacked by gang members who were trying to take her bag away, and in the process of fighting them, she got stabbed." Alex began, then looking at Hunter and Shane, she continued, "You two would be the members, while Cam here is the hero, parse, us four," motioning to Tori, Blake, and Ashley, "Along with Dustin will be her friends, and Andy'll be the witness. I'm done."

"Brilliant, but aren't you afraid that Shane and Hunter will be taken in by the cops?" Tori asked.

"Crap, that right. Er…Anyone else have an idea?" Alex asked.

"I do." Andy said.

"Andy! Dustin! Welcome home child." Ashley said to the pair of ninjas. In Andy's hand there was a small blue glass bottle full of clear liquid.

"Got the painkillers. Here, drink up." Andy said pulling the cork off the top as she handed it to Rei.

"Where'd you get this stuff?" Rei asked, sniffing the bottle. Her face relaxed as the sweet smell found its way to her nose.

"Home." Rei knew what she meant as in 'Home'. Home being the academy they all grew up in. 

"Figures." Rei drank the bottle with one gulp. "Smells good, but tastes like shit." Andy laughed. Rei slowly found some strength returning to her. The pain was subsiding, and so was the bleeding.

"Go to your room and change while I explain my story to tell the people in the ER." Rei didn't have to be told twice to do what she was told. Tori let go of Blake's hand and went with Rei into her room.

"So, what was that plan of yours?" Alex asked as Andy and Dustin took a seat side by side on the loveseat.

"You know how I was treated for bipolarization?" Andy asked. Eyes went wide. 

"You never told me that." Dustin said concerned. Ignoring his comment, Andy went on, "And you know when I have these episodes, I can turn— Murderous."

"What the hell? Andy are you serious?" Shane asked. 

"Does it look like I'm serious? Anyway, I think that I should be the one that stabbed her. And if arrested, I'll plead temporary insanity. Alex and Ashley will be the witnesses. Each saying something different, but you two need to have the same underlying fact— I stabbed her." Andy continued.

"Child, are you serious that you want to go through with this? I mean, you're looking at months of therapy that you don't need. Why sacrifice freedom?" Ashley asked.

"Lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself, right?" Andy answered her with a question. "Knowing that, we could've lost Rei." Speaking of Rei, she emerged from her room wearing straight black. Tori followed her from behind.

"I think it's better than what I came up with. Now, Andy, Kiye, are you sure you want to go through with this?" Alex asked.

"I could just plead to temporary insanity as well. You know that I'm suicidal, so I might as well just say it was a 'staged' suicide." Rei said softly.

"Jeez, you all are a ray of freakin' sunshine, aren't ya?" Blake asked, desperately trying to lighten the mood of the situation.

"I'm the pyromaniac." Alex said.

"If she's the one that's pyro, then I'm the risk taker." Ashley said laughing.

"Now that everyone's in a happy mood, can we please get to the hospital so the docs can stitch me up?" Rei asked. As they were about to leave, Tori asked the one question that was ignored for a short while.

"So which story are we going with?" 

Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Have fun! Later days— M. Jaq


	10. Kissing 101

Hello everyone, welcome to chapter 10. Last chapter was full of blood and unshed tears. I'll try to make this one seem more "lighthearted".  —M. Jaq

Something you should know before reading:

1) Ashley has moved in with our favorite girls. ^_^

2) Demonisshu— devilish (Japanese)

3) L'ange—the angel (French)

4) Necking—kissing anywhere from the neck down/ make out

Harbor Memorial

"This is a cozy getup." Andy said as she eyed the room that the nurses put Rei and herself in. 

"Thanks for coming in with me." Rei said looking at her stitches. Just then, Dr. Machado, a Hispanic doctor from Spain, came in with some tubes of baccitracin. He handed it to Rei, who took them.

"What is this?" she asked, studying the tubes.

"It's baccitracin, an antibiotic cream. Make sure your friend here puts some on those eighty-six stitches, okay? And as for you," the doctor looked at Andy, "Make sure she doesn't slip on glass again." Andy nodded, happy that he bought their new story.

"Well, thanks for everything doc." Andy said shaking his hand. Rei pushed herself off the bed she was on top of, and smiled at Machado as they left the room.

"Good bye ninjas." Vexacus' voice seeped through the mouth of Machado. He began to laugh evilly, but stopped when the charged nurse paged him on the PA.

"Dammit, I was about to teleport to Lothor's ship." He muttered under his breath.

~*

Back at room 366

"So, what do we do now?" Ashley asked as she stood by the door.

"Another challenge should be made." Alex suggested. "And it will be my turn."

"Fine with me. After what I've been through, weapons aren't a good idea. I'm going to sleep. G'night guys." Rei said as she went into her room. The other girls bid their friend goodnight and each went into their rooms to dream about the upcoming fight between Rock and Air.

~*

The next day at the beach

"Nice waves, eh Ash?" Tori asked with her board under her arm.

"Yeah, c'mon, let's join the others." Tori nodded as they walked towards 'The Group' as they were now called. Andy and Dustin weren't there for they had decided to meet at the track as the others went to hang out at the beach. The two surfers were catching waves while everyone else played volleyball.

"Hey! Mind if we join you?" Ashley asked as they stuck their boards in the sand.

"No," Hunter began, handing her the ball, "Your serve." Ashley could hit pretty hard, and with her serving, the opponent would feel the heat from her hand on the ball. After the ball was in play, it bounced through the air, not touching the ground. Then, Hunter spiked the ball and a point went to his team. When he scored, everyone walked in a counter-clockwise position where they would stay like that until the next point was made. Now serving was Alex for Shane's team. 

"Everyone move in close!" Ashley told them. 

"Why?" Rei asked, who was playing center court.

"She aims for the middle." For that reason alone, everyone moved a little to the center. Just like Ashley said, Alex did hit the middle and before it touched the ground, Rei cupped her hands together and hit the ball back with all her might over the net. Shane tried to dive for it, but wasn't successful.

"Oh, in your face Shane!" She screamed through the net. Shane smiled as he got himself up and dusted sand off himself.

"Wait until I serve, then I'll be the one screaming 'In your face!'." Shane told her with a smile. It was still Alex's serve, but Ashley suggested that they should give it a rest. She actually felt sorry for the ball. 

"Ashley, chica, it's just a ball—not a living thing." Alex said, coming around the net.

"But still—It keeps on getting hurt." She said in a babyish tone, as she snatched it from her hands. As they were sitting on the sand, The Group could hear screams coming from the left.

"What's going—?" Blake asked, but was quickly answered when they saw beams of light barely missing civilians. The Group hauled ass to the scene. Vexacus, in all his glory, stopped attacking the innocent people and focused his attention on the Wind, Thunder, Blaze, and Samurai. 

"Well, well, well," he began, "How are you feeling Ice ninja?" Everyone was in their attack position, but Rei put her hands at her side, and glanced right and left.

"How did you know about my 'accident'?" she asked, puzzled. Vexacus laughed as he made himself into Dr. Machado. When she saw who it was, Rei lifted her hands in what Dustin called the 'Kamehameha' position.

"Damn dirty demonisshu bastard." Rei muttered to herself as a pale blue light began to appear in her hands. As soon the light was in a spherical shape, she didn't say a word. As quickly as he changed back, Vexacus was an ice statue. 

"Nice one Rei." Ashley said as she patted her back. "Let's get out of here before he melts." The others didn't need to be told twice and with their ninja speed went to Ops.

~*

Storm Chargers

"Something's up." Andy said as she and Dustin were coming in from the track. They just finished riding twelve laps in which Andy led in the sixth, but Dustin won in the end. Helmets were resting on their bikes outside.

"Huh? What do you mean by 'something's up.'?" He asked.

"I mean that something's going on at the beach—and Rei just froze someone." 

"Right, and what makes you say that?" Dustin asked, stripping his shirt off, revealing the white undershirt he was wearing. Andy too followed suit, slipping out from her black and scarlet satire, showing a crimson surfer shirt.

"Cause I feel it in my bones. Why else? Hey Kel! Thanks for letting us use the track!" Andy said.

"Welcome anytime!" They heard her voice coming from the back.

"C'mon," Andy said looking up at Dustin, "Let's go to Ops."

~*

Ninja Ops

"Where the hell are we again?" Ashley asked, eyeing the room. _Not too shabby._

"Ninja Ops." Hunter answered.

"And this is where you all 'train'?" Alex asked surprised. 

"Yup." Shane told her.

"How long has this place been here?" Ashley asked as she looked at the guinea pig cage with the little Japanese house.

"Over one hundred years," answered the little guinea pig as he emerged from his little house.

"Holy shit! That's some freaky ass—" Alex jumped back. Ashley just rolled her eyes.

"How do you do?" Ashley asked as she bowed. "You must be their sensei, am I right?"

"Ashley! Ashley!" Alex said as she charged towards her. Then, gently grabbing her by the elbow, "Could you excuse us?" Sensei bowed while Alex pulled her friend away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Talking to talking animals, are you insane?" Alex asked. Ashley sighed and shook her head.

"No, but it is polite to talk to their sensei. He can really help us Alex. He can give us a 'home'." Ashley said, eyes full of sympathy. "Besides, look at him." Alex looked at the little pet-sized sensei, who was scolding his students for bringing them to Ninja Ops.

"But Sensei, Vexacus was right there. We had to get out of there as fast as—"

"I don't care! You know you aren't supposed to bring anyone here. As for punishment—"

"Let's go." Ashley said aloud, approaching them.

"What? Why?" Alex asked her softly. Looking at her friend, Ashley continued.

"Because we've worn out our welcome. Besides, they're in trouble." Alex bowed her head in defeat.

"Fine. I'll catch you later Shane." Alex said giving him a hug. When he released her, he kissed her on the cheek.

"See ya chica." Walking up to Hunter, Ashley held out her hand. They did some ghetto handshake, where in the end; Hunter pulled her into a hug and a light kiss on the lips. Eyes went a little wide, but they found something else to stare at.

"You coming tomorrow?" Hunter asked, letting his l'ange go.

"I'll see what I can do." Hunter smiled, looking forward that he would see his not-yet-girlfriend tomorrow. Cam was still holding Rei in his arms, while she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." He said, remembering their fight.

"You said that enough times Cam. It's okay. I'm fine," Rei said, making him look at her. She pushed herself off him and he let her go.

"I'll see you tomorrow guys."

"Bye." Turning their backs to them, the three musketeers climbed the steps that led out to the world above.

"Oh! Before I forget!" Rei's voiced boomed down the tunnel. "Rock will be coming to challenge Air. Andy and myself will come over and help you sharpen your moves! See ya'll later!"

~*

In room 366

The lights were low inside Andy's room. She invited Dustin in for some dinner consisting of steak and rice. Never refusing free food, Dustin ate happily. Afterwards, they watched a little T. V. Then, Andy began telling Dustin about her father. She told him about how her parents met, how they started the Blaze Ninja Academy, and about her little sister Kiyone, who was named after her and her little brother, Nwoye, who given the name of Nwoye, a lazy, but kind character in the book "Things Fall Apart", her father's favorite book. She went on to say how the academy became the way it looked. When she done, Dustin began spilling stories about his childhood, how he always wanted to race bikes for a living, how he met Shane and Tori in elementary school, and how they all came to the Wind Ninja Academy. She laughed at the times he said he was either utterly lost, or really confused when it came to Power Ranger business. Then, when he was done, Andy suggested that she teach him something new.

"And what is it you plan to teach me?" he asked, intrigued by the way she said it.

"How kiss correctly. C'mon." She said dragging him into her room. _What the hell? Me? Kiss correctly? I thought I was doing a pretty good job at that._ Dustin thought. He had no time to think because he was already inside her room with the door closed and a faint, but pleasant smell filled the room. A single candle was it. It was a big one, about five inches in diameter, and stood at about ten inches high.

"Smells nice." Dustin said.

"Thank you. Have a seat on the bed." Andy instructed. _He has to learn how to passionately kiss someone, whether it be me or someone else. He's not a little kid anymore, and I'm getting tired of all those childish pop kisses he gives me. I hope you're ready for a wild ride Dustin. He was looking around her room. There were four Japanese Samurai swords above her bed. On her stand she had a little alter and old pictures in frames could be seen in everywhere. His eyes stopped at one where he saw the three girls, Alexiel, Rei, and his own when they were about five years old. Each of them had a missing tooth in their happy grins. They were dressed in their ninja uniforms, but he noticed that Andy was holding a small trophy. _She must've won that competition Sensei told us about. Look at them. They seem so happy._ _

"Ready?" Andy asked as she approached him. Dustin looked her way and said the only thing that his mind told him to:

"Ready as I'll ever be." With that, once she was in arms reach, she cupped her hands on his face and moved in for the kill, parse. When she did, Dustin tensed up, but relaxed when she pulled away.

"Strike one." She said softly. He found his lips pressed softly against hers again and when he pulled away, he said, "Strike two." Andy smiled. Dustin moved farther on the bed, so that she can come up on it. _One more strike and he'll find out what it means when they say "Home". This last kiss was a little more passionate, but wasn't at the level of intensity as necking was._

"Strike three. Wanna feel what home plate feels like?" Andy asked. Dustin nodded "Yes." A grin came upon her lips.

"I'll show you. Come here." She said. As he came closer, Andy prayed to the ancestors that she was doing the right thing. _Three…two…one. Andy counted down. Lips were pressed upon one another in an even deeper kiss. Andy's tongue slipped away from her mouth, and found it tracing Dustin's. __Should I open up, or not? Two seconds later, Dustin made up his mind. _Open up_. And when he did, he was on cloud freakin' nine. Andy soon found Dustin's "sword" inside her own. __Lesson one, learn how to do this. Andy's tongue began rolling like waves inside Dustin's mouth, making him want to melt. Dustin soon caught on, and tried to do the same. A flush of joy and pride poured all over Andy. Once he perfected his new skill, Andy pulled herself away. _

"Five minutes, that's a new record. You're a fast learner. I like that." She said smiling. _That was the best five minutes of my life. _Dustin thought as he looked up. _Thank you God! This is almost as good as getting laid. (Everyone please laugh or smile)_

"Is that all?" Dustin asked, half whining.

"I dunno, is it?" Andy asked, glancing at the clock. 8:30 it read. In less than two minutes, Andy found herself kissing Dustin again. It was the same as before, but it lasted longer. They stopped as soon as they heard the door opening and voices. _Why did they have to come? Dammit! They ruined the moment!_ Andy thought. Realizing the position they were in, Dustin on top of her bed, with her own temple sitting on him, she quickly dismounted and unlocked the door. 

"I think you should leave." Andy said, with hints of sadness in her voice. Getting up, Dustin nodded.

"Yeah, I think I should go." Exiting the room, they both saw that they were lucky enough that the girls went to their rooms. Showing him to the door, Andy kissed him one last time for the night.

"G'night." She whispered.

"Sweet dreams l'ange." He said back. _Since when does he speak French?! Andy thought as she saw him disappear from the stairs. Closing the door, Andy jumped back when she saw three pairs of eyes looking at her._

"Did you guys see anything?" She asked them.

"Nothing—" Ashley said. Andy breathed a sigh of relief. "Except for the two of you sucking on each others face." Andy's eyes filled with alarm.

"Don't worry Shakespeare, you got your ending." Alex said.

"Damn you all." Andy said. Rei laughed. "I'm going to bed. Good night!"

How did you all like that chapter? Tell me what you think! Thanks— M. Jaq


	11. All the Time In the World

This chapter will be for all you Tori/Blake lovers. Hope you enjoy it.—M. Jaq

Things to know:

1) Mi amor— my love (Spanish)

2) Dimelo— tell me (Spanish)

3) Padre, Eijo, y Spiritu Santo— In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Spanish)

4) Ane— Older sister (Japanese)

5) "Take My Breath Away" does not belong to me at all. !_!

6) Andy'll now be wearing contacts— Brief summary on how she got them:

Andy had a scheduled appointment with her optometrist the day after she had given her lesson to Dustin. Saying that she wanted contacts, the doctor agreed. He told her that in a few days, they should be in.

The Beach, around dawn

"Hmm?" Tori asked as she awoke in Blake's arms_. Did we sleep here all night?_ She wondered as the sun gently tapped her face. She looked around as memories of the night before danced dreamily in her head. She hummed the tune to 'Take My Breath Away' by Berlin. The soft humming had Blake arise to a stir. Feeling him stirring under the navy blanket, Tori watched the waves as she began to sing the song.

"Watching every motion in my…Foolish lover's game …On this endless ocean finally…Lovers know no shame…Turning and returning to some Secret place inside…Watching in slow motion as…You turn around and say…Take my breath away…Take my breath away…"

"Hmm? Tori?" Blake asked dreamily.

 "Watching I keep waiting…Still anticipation love… Never hesitating to become…The fated ones…Turning and returning to some…Secret place to hide…Watching in slow motion as You turn to me and say...Take my breath away…Take my breath away…" Tori felt Blake's lips upon her cheek. She smiled as she turned to face him. Tori could've sworn she heard Terri, the lead singer from the band sing through the waves.

"Through the hourglass I saw you…In time you slipped away When the mirror crashed I called…You, and turned to hear you say…If only for today I am unafraid…" And just as the chorus was about to come on, Tori felt Blake's lips caress her own. She then drowned in her own ecstasy. He entered her mouth as he did, Tori felt as though she was light as Shane's element. In her mind, Terri's voice haunted her.

"Take my breath away…Take my breath away…" The voice seemed to capture the moment. _This is going to be a beautiful day— for the two of us. Tori thought as Blake pulled back. He smiled and blushed at the same time. Tori let out a low whistle._

"Wow." She whispered to herself. "What now?" Looking at his angel of water, Blake answered her by enwrapping her in his arms with his face to the ocean.

"Mi amor, dimelo." He whispered in her ear. Tori just looked outward. The waves envisioned the next verse of the song, which Tori began to sing softly.

"Watching every motion is this…Foolish lover's game…Haunted by the notion somewhere…There's a love in flames…Turning and returning to some… Secret place inside…Watching in slow motion… As you turn to me and say..." Tori sang as she closed her eyes. She moved her body side to side, as if wanting Blake to rock her back to sleep like a child. Not remembering that Blake could sing a little, Tori's eyes shot open as he sang sweetly the remainder of the song. 

"Take my breath away…My love… Take my breath away…" Humming the tune, Tori released herself from Blake's grasp and stood up.

"C'mon lover boy, we better get to Ops before we both get into trouble."  

~*

Ninja Ops

"Glad to see that you two have come to join us." Sensei said as he greeted his two students. They were both dressed in their uniform, ready for the hardships of the day.

"As I was saying," The two shades of blue turned to see their colleague, and fellow blue ninja behind them.

"Good morning." Tori said as she bowed to her superior who bowed back.

"Have a seat, Fire should be here shortly, but before that, I was explaining your activities today." Taking a seat side by side their fellow ninjas, Ice began to continue explaining what everyone will be doing.

"Today, for those who weren't here—" Rei started, looking at Tori and Blake, "We will be moving some of the Blaze Academy weaponry, books, scrolls, and armor. There will be two teams. One belongs to me, and the other, to Andrea. Now, my team will consist of Hunter, Cam, Shane, and myself. The other contains our resident lovers. My group will handle books and armor. My colleague's will take care of the weaponry and scrolls. Once we get there, do not be surprised if you see Rock and Wind, for we have found her, in a duel. Ignore them and remember what you are there for. There are four lost swords, one belonging to us. Its body will look like that from a light saber, for it, in fact, is one. These four are made to fit the style of its master. If you find one, give it to me or Andy. We will have many sparring lessons with them. Is that understood?" Gripping her sword at the hilt, Rei eyed the room.

"Aye. But tell me, Ice ninja, what are these swords you speak of? What power to they wield?" Sensei inquired with arms behind his back.

"That is something for us to know, and for you all to find out. When we fight, you will what they are and what power they contain. And if I'm not mistaken, if we see Rock, there will be no doubt in my mind that she will challenge Shane. So, I suggest that I lead both teams and Rei, along with Shane stays here. You have the whole day. Let's not put that to waste." Andy's enriching voice filled the room. She stood, leaning against the entrance with her arms folded across her chest and without her glasses. Dustin thought that she looked even more beautiful without them, but this was no time for compliments. Rising to his feet, he looked around the room.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

~*

In the forest

"Could you go a little slower?" Shane begged as Rei's leg moved at a rapid motion. 

"If I slow down, then you would have given Rock a full advantage. C'mon Shane, work with me here." Rei said as she dropped her leg. "Man that was tiring. Okay, let's move on to something easier. Shane—" Rei climbed to the top of a huge boulder. His eyes went wide.

"Padre, Eijo, y Spiritu Santo." He whispered to himself.

"This is no time for prayer," rethinking what she just said, Rei nodded, "Well, you're an exception. Okay! Can you hear me?" 

"Yeah I can hear you!" Shane said, blocking the glare out of his face.

"I want you to break this with your element—Air." _This should be easy. And perhaps, this could be used to knock Alex out and tip the scale._

"How the hell do you want me to do that?" Somersaulting down, Rei met with her 'student'.

"Like this—Ice blast!" Lights of blue emitted from Ice's hand. In a matter of minutes, the rock was ice solid. Walking up to it, Rei kicked it in the center, and it broke like glass. Tiny shards pierced the brown earth, leaving Shane shell-shocked.

"L-l-like that?" he stuttered, pointing to the now broken rock. 

"First, we'll break pebbles like these." Rei said, lifting one of the ice candies from the ground. "I'll throw them and you break them, okay?" 

~*

Ninja Blaze Academy

"Hey Andy!" Tori's voice carried through what used to be the Fire Halls. She held in her hands a box. A tar colored box which had symbols carved all over it. There was no specific pattern, but the same symbols repeated over and over again. 

"What is it Ane?" Andy asked as she and the boys made their way to the hall. Once they got there, Tori lifted the box that was undoubtfully heavy. As the box made its way into the light, Andy gasped. In her eyes, she could feel tears dying to be set free.

"Andy? Are you okay?" Dustin asked. Blinking away a tear, Andy nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Where did you find it?" she asked.

"Under these things." Tori said, tilting her head back at the pile of ninja and ninjetti dresses, riding outfits, and sleep attire.

"Dustin, take the dresses. Hunter, the riding outfits, Cam, the sleep clothes. Blake, the shoes." Andy ordered. Each knowing what they had to take, they set off. Tori and Andy held one side of the box as they all began to head for Ninja Ops.

What does this box contain? If you want to find out, or take a stab at guessing what's inside, go for it in your review! I thank those who have reviewed and made this story a success! Much love and luck to all you who are writing stories now—M. Jaq


	12. Academy Grounds

Hi everyone! Hoped you enjoyed chapter 11— M. Jaq

1) L'ange— the angel (French)

2) Amant— lover (French)

3) Ange— angel (French)

4) TKO— total knock out 

Academy Grounds

Andy whistled to catch Rock and Wind's attention. Both lowered their body parts that were suspended in midair. Nodding to Tori, they settled the black box on the ground. Seeing the box in great condition, the two ninjas encircled their 'friends'.

"It's Pandora's Box; passed down from the Age of Heroes." Rock gasped as she traced the contour of the box. "Still cold as ever."

"It should be. After all these years of hiding, the weaponry inside it must've died. The Wind Scythe should be in there. I can feel it calling me." Wind said. Tori was utterly lost, but left the Blaze students to themselves. Taking the hint that it was their time to leave, the Winds and Thunder disappeared into the hunter green lands. Sensing that they were alone, the masked ninjas unveiled themselves.

"Do you think that we—" Alex began.

"No. Not yet. The time has not yet come to release the titans." Andy answered.

"L'ange is right. We mustn't open that box—No matter how grave our battles become." Ashley said. "Agreed?" 

"Agreed." 

~*

Lessons

"C'mon Shane! It's been three hours and you still can't break a measly rock? I give you props for dodging the pebbles, but you still—"

"Wind tunnel!" Ice's mouth was sown shut. An enormous cyclone appeared from Shane's hand. Everything was breaking—even the ground between her feet. The aftershock of the blast left her stunned, yet pleased. Not only was the rock gone, but so were several trees and boulders surrounding them. A large crater was in the center of it all. Approaching her 'student', Ice clasped his shoulder.

"Well done. Well done."

"Who did that?" Tori asked, emerging from the fallen trees.

"He did." Rei said eyeballing Shane.

"He—He—he—?" _This is a hard concept to comprehend. How could he have done that? I mean, we were out all day? How could he possibly—? It doesn't make any sense._ Tori's thoughts danced rapidly in her mind.

"You don't believe me? Shane, do it again, but this time, aim for the stars." Rei said, pointing the Aquarian constellation. Shane sucked in a breath, and just as the other ninjas were joining the scene, Shane belted out "Wind Tunnel!" All four ninjas dropped what was held in their arms. The wind blew across their faces. When Fire and Rock came upon the scene, Shane's hand balled into a fist. Taking a look from Shane to herself, Alex knew that she was going to lose, but that didn't stop her from mouthing him off.

"Is that all you got Air ninja? Come, let us see if you have—" Rock's solid, yet commanding voice boomed.

"No," Andy said blocking her with her arm. "Now is not the time. The sun sets and the sky is red. Blood will be spilled heavily once more. Tomorrow will prove to be a promising day. If both sides agree to this, say 'Aye'." 

"Aye!" They both cried. 

"He shall be buried with rocks."

"And you shall be blown away." Threats ended the conversation that night, leaving the fighters with aflame.

~*

The next day

"Good afternoon Kelly." Andy said as she walked in.

"Hey! How's my favorite 125 rider?" Kelly asked. "You know, 'cause of you business has been up." Andy smiled. Looking around, she noticed that she didn't see her 'boyfriend' around.

"Where's—" she began.

"The track." Kelly said as she took a wrench from the counter.

"Thanks. Catch you later!" Andy called out as she walked through the doors that led to the track. She stood at the sidelines and watched the race unfold. Once again, fate has proven to favor her 'Amant', like what Ashley would say. When he dismounted his 'valiant steed', Dustin came to his Ange of Fire, smiling as his own helmet flew off. Greeting him with an innocent kiss, his Ange told him Rock's identity.

"Are you serious?" he asked, pulling his mud caked top off.

"I wouldn't be telling you now would I?" Fire questioned. Earth was lost for words, and Fire laughed.

"But still—what about the box? Could you at least tell me more about it? Or explain to me why you had me carry those dresses." 

"I'll tell more as soon as you take a long shower and meet me at Ops around dusk." Andy said, her eyes betraying her answer.

~*

"How long has Shane been standing there?" C. Cam asked the others.

"No idea." Blake said.

"Got the popcorn." Rei said as she came in with a huge bowl of the 'good stuff'. 

"Here's the drinks." Andy said, holding a cooler on the shoulders.

"Lemme help you with—What's Wind doing here?" Hunter offered, but stopped. He never forgot a face—especially one with cold, gray green eyes.

"Don't tell me that they—" Rei said, relieving Andy of the stress the cooler put on her shoulder.

"I believe they planned this all along. Hunter, how good are your Thunder Staff techniques?" Andy asked, still watching, waiting for Alex to come out.

"They're 'okay'. I wouldn't say great, but I can handle better than Blake can."

"That's good enough. Get out there." When he wasn't moving, Andy's body heat rose and her eyes flashed red, "Now!" _Of all days to pick a tag team duel… _She thought.

~*

Outside 

Once Rock made her presence known, the rules of the fight began to lie down.

"This is a tag team battle." Wind began. "Meaning that you are able to tag your partner so that he/she can take your place in battle. You can change anytime you wish, so long as you do not help them. You, who is not in the main battle, may fight the opponent not in the main battle as well. The rules that were mentioned by our superior remain the same." Letting everything soak in, Shane relaxed his posture a little while Hunter asked all the questions.

"So? What's the difference?"  

"In this, we have a referee and," Rock looked at Shane carefully, "Anything goes. Weapons can be used, as well as chi energy waves."

"And I believe that I have the honor of being today's ref." Andy said. "The first team to get a TKO loses. If one half of the team has a TKO, the one who fell first is the loser. Good luck to all of you. May your powers protect you." Wishing each other the best of luck with their eyes and taken aback at the speed in which Andy can come and go as she pleases, Hunter and Wind took their stances. 

"Fighters! Begin your cross!" They each were carrying a weapon. Wind's was shaped in the form of a scythe, while Hunter held his staff. Both were held and stayed in midair, making an X. 

"Good luck to the both of you. Remember, anything goes. And," Andy's hands were now resting on both warriors' hands, "Fight!"

Want more action? Catch me in chapter 13!


	13. Ladies of the Compass

Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 13, Tag Team Duel. I hope you all enjoy this one!— M. Jaq

Things to know

1) Is it a Thunder Staff? For my own pleasure, it is. Live with it!

2) Certain words will be used from the French, Spanish, and Japanese language so, if some look familiar, and you forgot what they mean, check the previous chapters for a list of words.

3) The whole Pandora's Box thing was inspired by the manga/anime 'Knights of the Zodiac'.

4) Kraken was a mythical serpent that Poseidon had as a pet to destroy cities. (I think)

Still outside

"Fight!" Both Hunter and his opponent didn't have to be told twice to begin the fight. The wind blew a harsh gust around them, causing the scattered leaves on the ground to be swept in circles. As they were rapidly spinning, Wind's crimson-gray staff began to form a curved, cyclone shaped blade on both, but opposite ends.

Inside

"A double sided scythe?" Blake asked, grabbing another handful of popcorn.

"Of course. It's Wind's secret weapon." Rei told him.

Outside (a/n: is this really necessary?)

Hunter ducked from the spinning scythe. As he did so, he charged up his staff. When he got up, his eyes widened. The Wind ninja's scythe now broke in two. She smiled malevolently beneath her mask.

"This is only the beginning." She said as she charged full speed to Hunter. Once in blade range of Hunter's charged staff, which was giving off small white sparks, Wind put her two scythes together and tore through his staff and face. His staff, now in two, and his face, full of blood, Hunter knew that he had lost. Wind smiled.

"Don't worry Shakespeare; you'll get your ending, once I get mine."

"Wind is the victor! Air! Rock! I call you to the floor."

The fans

"How did she do that?" C. Cam asked, though, for a hologram, he could eat. Popcorn was being refilled every twenty minutes. Everybody's attitude was 'Screw the soda. Lemme eat and watch the freakin' show!'

"Wind is the gathering element for thunderstorms and lightning storms," Rei explained in a very philosophical way, "But, no matter how Wind howls, the Mountain shall not bow to it. Nor will Fire yield the oncoming of an Ice storm."

Battlegrounds

"You know the rules. KO wins." Andy said as each fighter took his or her stance. Wind walked alongside Thunder to watch the other match fight.

"I will make the ground beneath you split apart and there you shall fall for eternity." Rock said, holding her hands high in the air. Shane's playful smile made her blood boil.

"And—" Not even 'Fight!' was heard, for both hurled towards one another with speeds one with a trained eye could see. Only sonic booms made their way to the ears of those who stood aside. Hunter was trying to keep up, as Andy tore off pieces of his already torn uniform to dress his large gash. Wind stood aside and watched the match. As she was dressing his wound, Andy began to explain how Hunter could see how his friend was doing.

"Do you sense the chi surrounding them?" she asked. Hunter nodded. "Well then, follow that with your eyes."

"H—?" Just then, a gray streak crashed into the ground. An earthquake awoke from the fall. Shane was suspended in air as he awaited the return of his challenger.

"Fool!" Rock cried, eyes glowing gray, "You should have finished me while you had the chance! Now, you will see how deadly the earth is. Vine wrap!" Long ivory white plant stems shot out of her hands. They wrapped themselves around Shane's body. Every time he tried to break free, the vines squeezed tighter. He had to focus, but at the time, couldn't. _C'mon man! Think! There's got to be a way to stop her! His _thoughts danced through his head. Remembering what Alex had bought the day the Kel Zaks took them by surprise, Shane put two and two together_. Wait! Rock can't be, can—? _Another vine shot at his neck and this one squeezed his windpipe. He struggled to speak, and as he did so, Rock flashed from the ground to the air, where, surprisingly, Shane still was.

"I told you that you should have finished me while you had the chance." Rock's hands started to glow an eerie shade of hunter green. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Shane said something that was barely a whisper.

"Alexiel." She froze, the light now gone from her hands. The vines turned brown and crumbled off his body. At the sound of her name, even her mask broke. Her long, navy-black locks fell to her shoulders. An 'O' shaped mouth quickly changed to a smile of satisfaction. As they let their bodies fall, Wind, with her back to Hunter, removed her mask. Her short, guy-styled black hair was unmistakable. The way it was gelled, so similar to his own.

"Ashley?" Hunter asked, startled at the fact that just by staring at the back of her head, he knew who it was. He asked her name in a question, which led to her walking away without saying good-bye.

"Don't worry about her." Andy said. Hunter's wound finally stopped bleeding and was ready to be 'sown' together.

"She probably feels guilty because she hurt you. Besides, she's the Wind ninja; it'll all blow over soon." Alex said, trying to make him smile. Shane was the one who actually did the smiling, but that didn't change the fact that Ashley left.

Inside Ops

"Congratulations to you all. You have each gained our trust and alliance. Now—" Andy said, but was stopped when another voice, with a light French accent, continued.

"We fight to protect the past, present, and future. We must live freely and learn to die well, for who knows; we may die tomorrow." Ashley's face made its way into the light. 'The Blaze Crew' smiled as their fourth ambassador, parse, waltzed even more into the already crowded room.

"As for the weaponry, well, let's have Andy tell you all about them." Alex suggested.

"After all," Rei added, "Most of her scars came from them." Eyes darted from one speaker to the next, but stopped on Andy. All eyes were fixed on her.

"What? It's true. I have a scar on the back of my right knee and two on the front of the left. And you," Andy said, looking at Dustin, "Couldn't see them because I hide them well."

"Just cut to the weapons!" C. Cam cried.

"Man, for a hologram, you demand so much. That's it. I'm making you a holographic girlfriend." Rei said. C. Cam's eyes went wide. "You're not the only computer whiz here. You need one. That way you can shut your trap!"

"Rei, calm down. Calm down." Ashley said.

"So, where were we?" Alex asked, siding herself with Shane.

"Weapons." Tori and Blake answered.

"Sensei, why don't you begin?" Andy asked. "After all, my father must have told you everything about them."

"It is wise if you should speak." Andy nodded as she began.

"Our weapons are very different from yours, obviously you've all seen the Arabian styled swords and the Twister Scythe," at the sound of her weapon, Ashley smiled.

"Every academy has their own personal collection. For example, I was born into the fire academy. We owned the Blaze Sword, the Fire Scythe, and the most damaging, our Fire Flies Sword."

"I was born into the Ice academy. We used the Arabian swords and the Ice Staff," Rei mentioned.

"I hail from the Earth and so I shall I return to it. We have no weapons for our weapon is the dust and the ground themselves." Alex said, folding her arms across her chest.

"As for I, there is only one weapon for the Wind academy. It's the one I fought you with." Ashley mentioned.

"Each of us can use our weapons to their full potential when we are angry enough. These weapons are said to be powerful enough to cause the destruction of mind, body and soul." Andy said to sum it all up. After that, the four Blaze Ninjas left, each one going in a different direction: Ice to the north, Rock to the west, Wind to the east, and Fire to south. Each of them not knowing that the skies have eyes that were looking down upon them.


	14. Bad Dream

Hey everyone! Welcome to chapter 14. This chapter will be mostly about Lothor and his goons— M. Jaq

Aboard the Ship

"Ooh uncle, are you thinking what we're thinking?" Kapri asked, watching the screen. Lothor nodded and a smile was plastered on Vexacus' face.

"I say we let them bring out the Titans, and then we take them under our 'wing'. We shall be the most powerful alliance the universe has ever seen." He said. Marah turned off the screen.

"Well, we could do that," she began, choosing her words carefully, "Or—"

"Torture them." A black shadow appeared out of nowhere. No one even knew who he was, but his built had Kapri and Marah drooling.

"And who the hell are you?" Lothor questioned.

"I rather not say, but I will tell you this—those four ninjas will pay for what they did to my face." With that, the shadow disappeared.

"Uncle—"

"Save it Marah. He's on our side. He's ours." Lothor laughed maniacally, then coughed, leaving Vexacus and Kel Zaks on the floor, laughing.

"Shut up or all of you shall witness their power firsthand." Lothor went into his room for the remainder of the session. Kapri snatched the remote and turned on the T.V.

"Ice to the north, Rock to the west, Wind to the east, and Fire to the south. All shall be mine as soon as I rid myself of everyone aboard this ship." The stranger muttered to himself.

Inside Lothor's room

"I know he is plotting against me. I have to stop him with another monster. This monster must outweigh all the previous ones. He must be invincible to both Wind and Thunder, and must be strong enough to injure that pathetic nephew of mine and Blaze ninjas. Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

On the screen

The fire in the center of the table licked the Ladies of the Compass. Neither one got burned by the flames. The story was set in the fire. It began with the story of Pandora and ended with what was yet to come. When the fire burst into in little fireflies, all four girls fainted. Scars were shown all over their body. There were deep ones, small ones, and some; you could tell took a long time to heal. What set Andy apart from the other girls, Dustin saw for he held her in his arms, was the fact that she had a scar designed on her upper arm—the Greek symbol for water, fire, wind, and rock; all were bound together by a tri-'colored' band.

Lothor's ship

"The mark of the Royals." Vexacus said aloud. Marah was now the one in control and turned off monitor.

"So she has a tattoo on her arm. Who cares? You three," she said, voice full of sarcasm, "Come, I need someone to do my nails."

Ninja Ops

When Andy awoke from her slumber, she found herself on the floor, in a room that had no lights. Wondering where she was, Andy got up slowly as to not disturb anyone else who was sleeping. She could hear someone breathing slowly, and it wasn't too far from her. Knowing that someone must've taken her home with them, Andy relaxed a little and returned to her pile of comforters and blankets. She whispered, "Good night," and went back to sleep.

Following morning

Andy awoke with a kiss on her cheek. She groaned and turned to the side. Her dreams were very good, and she did not want to spoil them by ending it too soon.

"Dustin! How's your friend? Is she alright?" a motherly voice said. Dustin stepped outside his room and told his mother that she was fine.

"Are you sure she doesn't need to see a doctor? I mean that fall could have damaged something."

"No, she'll be alright. I know her, she'll be fine."

"Okay. Well, if she wakes up, I'll just tell her that you're at Storm Chargers."

"I called, and Kelly said that it was okay for me to stay at home because of—"

"Good morning." A voice stopped Dustin from speaking. He turned to see Andy, wearing her hair in a braid that was loosely tied with his mother's band.

"Good morning. Do you need to see a doctor? You took a pretty nasty fall, according to him." Dustin's mom said with a concerned voice that came out of a half-smiling mouth.

"Um…I don't think so, but if you have some Tylenol that he can give me later, that's okay." Andy said sweetly.

"Okay, Dustin, you know where the medicines are. I've got to run. Why don't you stay for dinner? Would your parents mind?" his mom asked. Andy's eyes focused on the floor.

"I don't have any. They died two years ago." She said with downcast eyes.

"Uh—mom? You have to go now. You don't want to be late, do you?" Dustin asked, saving his mother from finding more about Andy. His mom shuffled questioning looks from Andy to her son. Realizing that he what he was trying to do, she got the hint, kissed him, and walked down the stairs. Once the main door was heard closing, Andy ran inside Dustin's room and locked herself in. Tears streamed down her face. She was cursing in a mix of Japanese, French, Spanish, and English. Dustin tried to get in, but unfortunately was greeted by a burning Andy. Her body was surrounded by this red aura. The tears that flowed from her eyes turned into steam.

"Andy? Andy, listen to—ah!" Dustin tried to say, but as soon as he touched her, realized that she was in no mood to hear what he had to say. Taking in a deep breath and knowing that he'll get hurt; Dustin put his hands on her red-hot face and ignored the pain, and talked as kindly as he could.

"Andrea! Look at me, damn it!" Dustin held on as he felt the temperature rise even higher. _Why can't he leave me alone? Can't he see that his mom brought up my parents? Just when I was getting over their deaths…_

"Leave me alone, Dustin." She said coolly, when he didn't take his hands off her face, she cried out "Just leave me alone!" Andy shoved Dustin away and ran as fast as she could out of the room—and out of the house, where Vexacus greeted her.

"Hello Andrea. It has been a while."

"Vexacus, what do you want? I am in no mood to deal with you."

"But you see Andrea, I am. Let me make this easy for you. You have two choices fight me or," Vexacus began, "you surrender yourself to the darkness. Either way, you will become a prisoner." Dustin ran outside to the street to see Vexacus and Andrea standing about ten feet away from each other.

"I am in no mood for—" Andrea had to duck as Vexacus kicked the air. The two exchanged several punches and kicks, until Andrea skidded, while standing on the street. Dustin remembered that he took a sword without anyone noticing and tossed it to her. She caught it with a smile and began to channel her chi into the metallic object. A blade arose from the tip and it found itself to Vexacus' left hand, which fell off as Andrea picked it up.

"You are a fool Vexacus. You know that these blades will cut through anything." Then in a twist of fate, with his right hand, Vexacus was able to grab with Andrea's free arm and cuffed it. Dustin ran to her, as she tried to break free from Vexacus' grip.

"Ah, but you have forgotten that this cuff cannot be cut through with that measly weapon of yours." With that, he teleported her to the ship, leaving Dustin to touch nothing but air.

Dustin rushed back inside and called Alex's cell to tell her what he witnessed.

"Tell everyone to meet at Ninja Ops tonight." Dustin took Alex's words to heart and began phoning everyone about the meeting.

Later that night, everyone was gathered at Ops. Ashley, Tori, Hunter and Blake were the first four to arrive. The rest came about half an hour later. Everyone knelt down and folded their feet behind them, like the Japanese.

"Alexiel, what's going on? Why have you asked us to come here?" Ashley asked, kneeling down next to Hunter.

"Andrea's gone. Vexacus took her prisoner." Dustin answered.

"What?" Rei exclaimed wide-eyed.

"Prisoner?" Tori asked. Alexiel nodded.

"Torture in inevitable. The scars on her back will be ripped open once more, leaving her to bleed," Alex stated with a serious face, "We too carry the scars left by the shards of glass that dug into our skin from the battle so long ago." Alex went on to explain about the past fights they had against Lothor two years ago. She mentioned that it was the day they all were orphaned.

"Knowing that she carries the Hatarwi name, and is the last one in existence, Lothor is most likely going to turn her against us and have her come after the rest of us." Rei said frowning.

"That's beside the point. First of all, how do we set her free before that happens and second, if Lothor is successful with her, wouldn't that mean he's be after us three?" Ashley asked.

"It is very possible," said the Wind Sensei. "Lothor is known for this kind of treachery."

"How do we 'cure' Andrea if Lothor has her under some bogus mind control?" Blake questioned.

"You can't. You'd have to kill her." Rei answered. "Or in the worst case scenario us."

Dustin reacted with a stupefied face and a, "What? We could never kill you."

"Gotta agree with my homeboy there," C. Cam said.

"But, aren't there any alternatives?" Hunter asked concerned.

"No. Death is the only way to set any of us free." Ashley said, giving him a look of emptiness.

"I remember the three of us witnessed a murder for the same reason." Rei said as she began to describe how her older cousin, Taylor, was killed for having a demon inside him.

"It's not a pretty site. Executions can become pretty gruesome."

"I just hope that Andrea lasts long enough before Lothor gets his hands on her mind." Alex said as she got up to leave. The rest followed suit and bade Cam and C. Cam good night.


	15. Death: the only option

Chapter 15:

Aboard Lothor's ship, Andrea was beaten until she became unconscious. She collapsed into her own pool of blood. Her wrists and ankles were bound with shackles that would slowly drain her fire bending abilities until she had none left.

"I will cast the spell tonight. She will have no power over her actions. As soon as she hears my tune, she will be the perfect trained assassin," said the mysterious male stranger aboard Lothor's ship.

"I agree." Vexacus said as he stood looking at Andy's blood soaked body.

Paris Blues Café

"It's been a week and you've still haven't figured out how to get Andy free?" Tori asked the baffled Blaze ninjas during a girl's night out dinner.

"Look, breaking into that ship is harder than it looks," Ashley began, "and, I'm pretty sure that Lothor has her under mind control." Alexiel signed the bill, as she rose to her feet.

"There's still that glimmer of hope that she'd come back to us, safe, but weak." She said.

"I know, but," Tori began, "hope can only go so far."

The ship

"You know your duties." Lothor said.

"I shall take destroy the Wind Ninjas," said the shadow figure.

"And I, shall capture my sisters," said a hard feminine voice. They bowed and turn their backs towards their sensei.

"Good. Michael and Andrea Hatarwi, the most deadly Fire Blaze students ever to walk those grounds. I shall finally get my revenge. " Lothor mentioned to himself.

Bay Harbor beach

At the crack of dawn, the Hatarwi twins attacked the beach. Ashley was in the crowd of scared locals. _I've got to tell the others. _Before Ashley could run any further, Andrea met her face to face.

"You're coming with me."

"Or else?"

"Or else I'd kill your precious Hunter."

"You'd have to kill me first."

"Fine. Be that way." Wind and Fire began to dance in the streets. Wind ran around Fire at lightning speed, causing Fire to kneel down, gasping for breath. Fire's brother shot a firebird at Wind.

"You shall fight me."

"Arugh!" Wind said as she charged him. Andrea was getting up of the ground. Once her brother tackled Ashley to the ground, they teleported to Lothor's ship.

Italian Venue

"Has anyone seen Ashley today?" Hunter asked Tori. The group of ninjas and ninjetties were waiting upon the arrival of Rei, who said she had something for them to read. They decided to eat at the local Italian Venue, the same restaurant where Andrea had taken them three months prior to her abduction.

"I haven't," Tori answered, shaking her head, "but she hasn't been surfing with me for about two days now. Why do you ask?" In her heart, Tori knew why. She swore to herself that they would come together if she arranged certain meetings. Since Ashley was not there, Tori figured that he had the right to know where his soon-to-be girlfriend was. Cam saw Rei walking into the restaurant and waved. She carried under her arm the Bay Harbor Herald. Once she was able to get a seat, she slid the paper on the table so that everyone could see the front page. The title said, "Where were the Rangers?" Everyone just stared at the picture. In it, Andrea and this other mysterious teen were attacking civilians at the beach.

"That's not the only picture. Go to page A3." Rei said. Dustin flipped to the page she said to.

"Oh my G—" Hunter whispered under his breath as he stared at the second picture, this one smaller than the first. Ashley's silhouette in the sand and the teen sitting on top of her back. Andrea was seen to the left of the picture, her body lay motionless in the sand. The waiter came by to ask if Rei would like something to drink when he caught sight of the newspaper.

"Violence will only lead to it being spread. The sun was red in the sunrise, blood has been spilt that day." Realizing that he said too much, the waiter turned his back to them and a minute later, came back with Rei's water.

"Excuse me sir, but how do you know that?" Alex asked politely.

"All Native Americans do. It is something we have perceived and never questioned." He answered. Silence took its place among the table. Then, quirking an eyebrow, he went on to ask, "Do you know those people in the photo?" With downcast eyes, Rei shook her head.

"We do." The waiter flipped back to the front page and handed it to Dustin.

"Then, let me offer you a piece of advice," he began, choosing his words carefully. "If they are truly your friends, they shall recognize your face. And," he paused, wrinkling his brow, "if they do not, remind them of the love they've lost sight of. Not every friendship will end with death." With that, he left the table, handing the bill to Alex. The young ninjas and ninjetties walked out and headed towards the parking lot, meditating on the wise Indian's words. When everyone reached their main mode of transportation, Tori told Alex and Rei to meet at Ops that night.

Once the sun began to set into the west, Alex and Rei were inside their haven, along with the others. Alex closed her eyes, as did Rei, and the two began to mediate while they waited for the ninjas to arrive. Tori was already there, as promised and Cam, well, he lived there. Once the voices of Shane, Hunter, and Blake filled the room, Alex opened one eye and watched them like a hawk.

"You're late." She said angrily. Rei stopped meditating and disposed of the chi-filled orbs by moving her arms in an X pattern. Once the meeting was called to order, Sensei crawled out of his little hut.

"Remind them of the love they've lost sight of." He stated coolly. All eyes were on the little animal. "That is what your aim must be when you encounter either of them."

"What about Michael?" Rei asked concerned.

"You know that guy!" Shane and Blake exclaimed.

"You didn't see the family resemblance between Andy and him?" she answered with a question.

"Of course not. They don't know." Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"Then, it is time you tell them." Sensei suggested. Alex's lip started to quiver as she recalled the day when Lothor attacked and she witnessed the death of her best friend's brother as he stepped in between her and a laser beam. Alex could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She looked at her 'family' realizing that one tear had escaped. Then another, and another. Seeing that she couldn't talk, Rei filled them in.

"Michael 'Nwoye' Hatarwi. He died trying to save Alex. And," she said, gripping her good friend's hand. "Is Andrea's younger twin. I guess he didn't die."

"But, he has been under Lothor's control for some time now." Alex stated, wiping her face with her sleeves.

"For how long?" Shane asked concerned.

"About three years. Lothor has them working together. That will only inscribe catastrophe. Now they have Ashley. Who knows how long it's going to take for them to reconfigure her."

"Once they do," Rei began, "there will be no turning back."

"Love. Use it to free them." Tori said, realizing that she was able to put two and two together.

"You can't do that. They have hearts of stone. Dustin and Hunter would be killed in combat before they would be able to remind them of the love they lost. Death is the only way." Rei looked at Alex who said such a bold statement. Everyone was taken aback by her strong voice.

"How do you know? You've never—" Shane started but was cut off by Alex's shaking voice.

"You weren't there when I fought Mike for the first time. I tried to tell him, tried to tell about how we used to be friends, sparring mates," she answered, "He told me he had no recollection about his past and that he only knew that he had to destroy me. It was then we fought and I knew that I lost him forever. The only way to get the three of them back to 'normal' is to have them killed by our hands. Their corpses will turn to ash and Ashley will return to the air and spread their ashes among the place where their bodies lay." Tori's eyes held a terrified expression and she found herself in Blake's arms crying. Rei herself started to feel her lips quiver and her set of tears rolled down her face. Alex held the rest of her tears inside, knowing how they would turn into knives and stabbed her heart.

"If there are no other options," Sensei began, choosing his words wisely, "You must kill them to set them free."


	16. Restoring Balance

Chapter 16:

One week went by. Then another. Then another…Storm Chargers was shrouded with growing emptiness and fear since Andrea, Michael and Ashley began terrorizing the town. Hunter had tried to convince the other ninjas that he could get through to Ashley, but when on the battlefield, her heart was stone.

"Ashley, you've got to remember something," he said as he was fighting her on the street. He dodged a kick that made him stumble backwards. Hunter landed on his back. She moved her hypnotic body as she did so; the wind was blowing harder and harder.

"Nothing. I remember nothing!" she screamed as two cyclones swept Hunter off into the distance.

At Ninja Ops that night, everyone met for a meeting of the regular topic: How to break them free. Hunter's arms were in ace bandages up to his elbow.

"Yo bro," Shane began as he looked straight at Hunter's arms, "How did it go?"

Hunter hesitated for a moment before answering.

"She said she remembered nothing."

"Nothing?" Blake asked as he stepped into the circle. His brother nodded as he lowered his head.

"It was like we never met before in our lives."

"The spell cannot be broken by words," Rei said calmly, "death is what will set them free."

"That will do us no good. We would be losing three out of the four originators of the Blaze Academy." Alex said.

"But won't they—"

"No Tori, they won't survive. Both the powers of darkness and those of the ninja are too strong. Only one has to prevail." Sensei's words brought silence to the fearful teenagers in the room.

"Neither can coincide with the other. There is no balance between them. If there is one, then we must find it quickly." Alex looked at Rei. _We are the balance. We are the ones. The Blaze Academy is what keeps the balance between the Storm and the Thunder; between the darkness and the ninja._

"Sensei is right, we have to find the balance." Dustin said, fist to palm.

"There are two already Ranger." Alex directed her answer to him. Rei nodded confidently.

"Where?" Cam asked.

"Here we are," Alex answered.

"And here we stand." Rei finished the ancient motto. Everyone looked from each other to the two Blaze Ninjetties.

"You're joking, right?" C. Cam said lightheartedly.

"No we're not." Rei said, balling her hand into a fist. Her fist became frosted with shaved ice as Alex's palm was covered with vines.

"To restore the balance," Rei continued, "we fight for—"

"Our Honor with the strength we are born with." Rei jumped in.

"For the friends we lost." Tori said, going over to join the two.

"To regain the love we once shared," Dustin said as he and Hunter walked to the girls.

"For us to become one again." Blake said walking over as well. All eyes were on Shane.

"To remember those who went before us." Sensei looked at the set group ninjas who now stood together, no longer divided. Each one bowed knelt on one knee towards him, heads bowed, arms at their side. It was a sight he knew that Sensei Hatarwi would be proud to see.

"Go forth my children," he said, "to regain the balance lost."


	17. Light Succumbs to the Darkness

Chapter 17:

Two weeks later, after intense training and pushing their powers as far as they would go without mortally harming themselves, the Blaze Academy ninjas stood alongside their Storm and Thunder Counterparts in Ninja Ops. Lothor sent a message inscribed in an alien scroll in Blaze characters, which Andrea Hatarwi memorized and wrote:

_Huntainca forco fuertu. Espirte fuertu demonie ghalia. Matuhai! Mathuhai!_

_We hunt for your fight. You determined spirit is what feeds the demons. Die! In your blood you die!_

At Ninja Ops once more, the Rangers and the Blaze teenagers meditated on the words of the scroll.

"This is it guys, we've got to bring them back." Alexiel said as she suited up in her burgundy colored ninjetti warrior gown. Rei picked up her hair in two buns, one on each side of her head. She wore pale, icy blue ninjetti dress that was the same design as Alexiel's. Both were wearing a pair of black knee-high boots that were costumed for their taking the shape of their bodies. As for the others, the Storm and Thunder Rangers morphed. Shane morphed one step further.

"Are we ready?" Rei asked, eyeing every student from the combined Ninja Academies. Alexiel walked to the staircase that would take them to the battleground.

"Is there anything else you need me to do bros?" C. Cam asked looking at his 'real' friends.

"Pray." Alexiel said as she began to climb up the stairs. Rei nodded in agreement and followed the friend that went before her.

"Rangers," Sensei said to them, choosing his words carefully, "This will be my last word of caution to you: You all have proven your place here. Make us all proud." The wings of the Phoenix bird shone outside, casting an eerie glow.

"Let's go!" Shane commanded, practically flying out of Ops.

Andrea appeared beside the bleeding bodies of the two who promised to 'restore the balance' and laughed manically. Her raven black ninjetti dress was outlined in the moonlight. Her twin was dressed in a priest-styled uniform. Both had the mark of the evil planted on their upper arm and chest. Ashley had the same markings tattooed on the same places. Her silhouette was seen floating above, casting a shadow of a befallen angel. All had wings that wrapped their bodies. This was the ultimate advantage of being at full strength and a former Blaze Ninja. Andrea made her wings beat once, causing over a thousand fireballs to be launched at Alexiel and Rei. The red light was as beautiful as the flames of Hell.

"Foolish mortals. Did you really think that you could bring me back to the light? You both are very—" Andrea said to herself. She quickly walked to meet her other allies in the fight. Ashley landed alongside Michael as the Rangers made their way to the battlefield.

"So, they did come after all." Michael said.

"You really think you have a chance against us?" Andrea asked, wings arched.

"We are here to restore the balance. That is our sole mission." Dustin responded strongly.

"Matuhai, Mathuhai." Ashley said, pointing to the blood spilled on the dirt that led to the bodies of the two whose spirits were 'going home' at last. _Shane, I will always be with you. I'll be watching from above. _

"Quit your talking!" Shane exclaimed.

"Fine. Come, we fly." Ashley said as she flapped her wings upwards, unbeknownst to her that a thunderstorm was quickly moving towards her. With a flick of his hand, Hunter brought lighting to the ground. She dodged every bolt that was inches away from her body. She smiled an evil grin. She stopped dodging long enough to cause the thunderclouds to become cyclonic clouds. Three touched the ground and sucked the Thunder Rangers into her territory.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Ashley hung in the air and cackled as the two rangers spinned out of control.

"Had enough?" More screaming endured. Then the crest on Ashley's chest started to glow a grayer shade.

In space, Lothor and his goons were laughing and rejoicing at the results of the fight.

"My lord, we shall win." Vexacus said in a happy tone.

"Indeed, we shall. Indeed we shall."

"Ooo Uncle! Can we throw a celebration party?"

"Not yet you fool! We must first complete watching the end of the Rangers. Ha! They think they could have restored balance! Haha!"

On Earth, Tori and Cam took on the task of trying to bring the old Michael back. Both were thrown to the ground, but got up with every ounce of strength each had. When Tori was knocked to the ground by a flying sidekick, Cam took it upon himself to avenge his friend—he was the legendary Samurai Green Ranger: this was his fight because he knew in his heart that Rei was gone—her death alongside Alexiel in the red light. This fight against the hardest stone to pierce was his alone. _This is it. I either die or live to tell this story that would last a lifetime. For Rei I fight. For you my love, for you… _

"Arugh!" Double bladed, Cam began to fight for everything he loved, and for everyone he knew.

Tori couldn't move, let alone breathe. She felt like her body had been through one of the worst wipeouts in history. _Alexiel, Rei…I'm sorry. I just wasn't strong enough. I'll be with you soon. I'll be there soon._

"Tori! Ah!" Blake screamed as he fell off the dark cloud. The twirling cyclones had stopped and their battle moved to the clouds. Blake looked down at his precious girlfriend's motionless body. Ashley took advantage of the situation and was able to glide him off the cloud with a harsh gust. His brother's screams ended with a thud: Hunter's eyes grew wide with fear and closed with anger. This girl wasn't the same one who wanted no one to know of her feelings for him—his was the right hand guardian of Hell.

"Now that he's out of the way," Ashley said as she approached him, "We can fight properly. Two on one isn't fair." The wings glided into her back, making him twitch.

"Doesn't that hurt at all?"

"What? The wings? Ha. There are worse things."

"Like wha—" Hunter flew into the next cloud over.

"You." Their fight endured well into the morning. If there were already four ninjas who gave up their lives to restore balance, one more was about to be added to the list. Shane was burned to an unrecognizable degree. His ranger uniform was still smoking as his one good eye looked at his scorched body. With the last bit of energy he had, he whispered something to Dustin:

"We'll be waiting here for you bro." Those were the final words of the leader of the Ninja Storm team.

"You're next." Andrea said, fist in flamed. Dustin looked around the dismal forest. Alexiel and Rei's bodies were not too far to his left, their dresses stained with red blood; Tori, his best friend since elementary school, laid next to a severed Blake; and now, Shane's ashes had returned to the earth. _I can't kill her. I can't bring myself to doing that. I can't. Neither can Hunter or Cam. We can't kill them. We can't._

"No, you are!" Dustin exclaimed, his axe glowing brighter. Andrea's eyes were unmoving. The more he focused on the light, the more the darkness hid. Hunter and Cam soon followed suit, their weapons creating the same bright light that shone off Dustin's.

"Impossible! I thought the light would not—" Lothor grew from elated to pure anger and frustration. _I made them in my shadow. Mine of pure EVIL. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE! _

"But it has my Lord."  
"Uncle…" Capri whined, knowing that the darkness would subside and the light would prevail in a matter or moments.

"What is this power!" Andrea, Michael and Ashley exclaimed as their eyes burned and scars inflicted every part of their body where their victims were marked.

"They have done it. Those who have fallen in both darkness and light shall succumb to the light. This, this is what Sensei Hatarwi wanted—to see the light prevail and restore the balance." Sensei said loud enough for C. Cam to hear and compute in his cyber body.


	18. The Beginning of the End

Chapter 18:

A heavenly bright white light enveloped the forest. Dustin, Cam, and Hunter had auras around them. Each shone off a hint of blue in their natural colors: gold, emerald, and crimson. As for those in the darkness, the light burned through their bodies. Their spirits separated from their hosts and were destroyed. For those who fell in the battle, life was slowly returning. Spirits walked from the white light and collapsed into the motionless body. When they awoke, they too glowed from their auras. Once all were conscious, they walked towards their old friends. After that, the heavenly light disappeared causing its bearers to collapse. Air carried Earth; Ice carried the Samurai; Blue Thunder carried Crimson Thunder. Two of the three corpses were carried by Rock and Water. The fire ninjetti remained untouched on the ground.

A week went by. Everyone tried to go back to normal, but failed. That Saturday afternoon, the ninjas decided to meet at Ops. Rei and Alexiel were dressed in white. The others wore their respected colors. In front of the waterfall were three mounds. On them, written in stone were Andrea Kiyonne Hatarwi, Michael Nwoye Hatarwi, and Ashley Angelevus Zmouli. Sensei had returned back in his human form due to Heaven's Light.

"I know this is a hard time for you all," he said remorsefully, "but now their burden has been lifted," Sensei looked around the room, "and yours with them. You knew this would happen. Time will come to pass, as you will grow from this. You all will learn to remember the children of the Phoenix and the daughter of the Western Winds." He turned his back to them as he walked out to the burial mounds. His students followed him silently until Rei started to sing in the ancient language. Alexiel soon joined her.

"Ashunei eloie matu. Ashunei eloie matu. Dari darine matu. Dari darine matu. Ashunei eloie matu. Ashunei eloie matu." They stopped once they reached the first mound: Ashley Angelevus Zmouli. She was wrapped in blue-gray burial cloth and dressed in the ninjetti dress she died in. That was the attire for all of the deceased. Instead of singing, the Rei and Alexiel repeated what they sang in English.

"Woman suffered and died. Woman suffered and died. Rest in death. Rest in death. Woman suffered and died. Woman suffered and died." Once they had finished, they knelt on one knee as the others followed suit. They all stood up. Hunter had a pale blue rose in his hands and placed it in hers. He nodded as he thought how could he live his life without a girl like her. _I'll be waiting for you. Until we meet again._ Shane stood in front of the mound with his arms extended. The sky got darker as the wind began to pick up. A cyclone made out of fog came and swept the body up into the air. The singing began again as they reached the mound of Michael Nwoye Hatarwi. They said the traditional saying once more, and knelt on one knee. Again they rose. Then Tori stood to the left of the grave and lit the wood around him by rubbing two stones together. _I don't even know you, but you and I could have close friends. Dearest Michael, I hardly knew thee._ By the time they reached Andrea's mound, Tori, Rei, and Alexiel had tears streaming down their eyes as did the boys, who were trying to hide it. No singing endured or kneeling. Silence. The thought of Andrea's nineteenth birthday loomed in their mind. It was the day after the Heaven's Light took her. Alexiel started to speak a few minutes later.

"To our best friend. To our leader. To our comrade. To you my dear. Look at us here. Watch over us as we live without your presence." Rei wiped her cheeks with her palms.

"A daughter of the Phoenix. A protector for all eternity. A warrior who only lives in myth and legend: this is for you. You brought us together and now it is you who has left us with each other to lean on. You knew that this day would come. It came the week of your nineteenth birthday. Happy birthday love."

"There's only us, there's only this…Forget regret or life is yours to miss. No other road, no other way. No day but today." Dustin found himself quoting 'Rent', but the words were right for the burial. Once he said that, Andrea's mound lit on it's own. Her body burst into flames, as did her brother's. The mourner's stepped back and shielded their eyes. Out of flames rose two birds; one crimson, the other ash red: full grown phoenixes. The birds screeched and flew, taking the fires with them. Everyone was stunned. No one spoke out of shock, until Sensei nodded.

"Phoenixes have been forged by fire. Their duty is to serve, protect, and defend these grounds." Recovering from the shock, the rest nodded. Sensei smiled as he looked to the skies. He walked back to Ops while his students headed towards the beach.


	19. The End

The End:

Years went by. By that time, Lothor was defeated, leaving the Rangers to pass on their powers to another group of teenagers.

Rei married Cam five years later, on Andy's birthday. Shortly after, Shane and Alexiel were expecting twins that they later named Andy and Mike. Tori and Blake had adopted a little girl from India and named her Ashley. Hunter joined the navy and took part in the Samurai Revolution in Japan. He never forgot Ashley who taught him to go wherever the wind travels. Dustin eventually opened his own bike shop in Angel Grove. He became really successful until a tragic accident a year later, took his life. The ninjas gathered once more, now with their children, and Sensei at Ninja Ops one last time. Everyone wore the same thing they had worn the day of the first burials. Their children were dressed in similar fashion.

"Kyrie Elison. Christe Elison. Kyrie Elison." They sang.

"Say good bye to Uncle Dustin, okay?" Blake said to Ashley, who was turning four in about a month.

"Bye-bye." She said waving, her hair in pigtails.

"Go on you two." Andy and Mike walked up and stood next to their god sister.

"Later Uncle."

"See ya dude."

"We'll see you at the track bro." Blake and Hunter said.

"Now you and Andrea can talk once more." Rei said, placing a flower on his grave.

"Have fun you free spirit." Alexiel said.

"Bye buddy." Shane said, walking towards Alexiel.

"Take care Dustin." Cam said.

"I'll always remember you Goofy." Tori said her goodbye.

"Rest in peace Earth Ninja." Sensei said, placing a hand on his shoulder. The earth gave way and swallowed him. The children were scared and grabbed on to their parents' hand.

"It'll be okay. He's just going to bed." Was their explanation. The phoenixes' flew above and let out a cry.

In heaven, Dustin was as his twenty year old self. Ashley, Michael and the whole Blaze Academy stood there, applauding. He saw a figure in the distance. St. Peter opened the gate.

"Welcome home Dustin, Son of Earth." As he walked inside, Ashley pointed to the figure in the distance.

"She's been waiting for you."

"Welcome home Dustin." Michael said as he led him. When Andrea was in clear view, Michael stopped and pushed Dustin in her direction.

"Andrea!"

"Dustin?" When Andrea saw him, she ran. When they were face to face for the first time in six years, they hugged each other.

"What took you so long?"

"Shh…All that matters is that I'm here now." With that, they kissed once.

"I swore that I'd protect you, remember?"

"I swear." They kissed again with more passion. St. Michael the Archangel united them as royalty of Elysian Fields.

-Fin-


End file.
